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Grey Wolves (Organization)

2023-03-03T12:18:22Z

Andrewlee: /* History */

The '''Grey Wolves''' (also known as Ülkü Ocakları) is a Turkish Islamist, [[fascist]]<ref>Taspinar, Omer (2005). "The Kurdish Question in Turkish Politics". Kurdish Nationalism and Political Islam in Turkey: Kemalist Identity in Transition. Middle East Studies: History, Politics & Law. New York and London: Routledge. pp. 92–94. doi:10.4324/9780203327036. ISBN 9780415512848.</ref><ref>Sullivan, Colleen (2011). "Grey Wolves". In Martin, Gus (ed.). The SAGE Encyclopedia of Terrorism (2nd ed.). Sage Publications. pp. 236–7.</ref> and [[neo-Nazi]] organization.<ref>https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17983/turkish-grey-wolves</ref> The Grey Wolves has been designated as a terrorist organization by France.<ref>https://www.dw.com/en/france-bans-turkish-ultra-nationalist-grey-wolves-group/a-55503469</ref> Turkish dictator Erdoğan and an Azerbaijani military general have made the hand sign of the Grey Wolves.<ref>https://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2018/03/11/erdogan-grey-wolves-video/</ref><ref>https://zartonkmedia.com/2020/12/10/azerbaijani-general-making-the-grey-wolves-sign-at-baku-parade/</ref>

==History==
The Grey Wolves was formed in the 1960s by former Turkish Army colonel, Alparslan Türkeş, who was an open admirer of [[Adolf Hitler]] and [[Nazi]] ideology.<ref>https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/grey-wolves.htm</ref> Joshua D. Hendrick has compared the organization to the Nazi [[Schutzstaffel]]. <ref>Hendrick, Joshua D. (2013). Gülen: The Ambiguous Politics of Market Islam in Turkey and the World. New York: New York University Press.</ref>

==International Presence==
The Grey Wolves operates in numerous different countries such as Azerbaijan, Syria, Russia, Thailand, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and the U.S.<ref>Brzezinski, Zbigniew; Sullivan, Paige, eds. (1997). Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States: Documents, Data, and Analysis. Washington, D.C.: M. E. Sharpe. p. 616. ISBN 978-1-56324-637-1. It is also revealed that a new force of 200 armed members of the Grey Wolves organization has been dispatched from Turkey in preparation for a new Azeri offensive and to train units of the Azeri army.</ref><ref>Ali, Kyamal (18 February 2014). "Серые волки" собрались на охоту. ann.az (in Russian). Azerbaijan News Network. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. В 1995 году Верховный суд ликвидировал регистрацию «Боз Гурд» в связи с названием организации, известной в мире как террористическая.</ref><ref>Cherni︠a︡vskiĭ, Stanislav (2002). Новый путь Азербайджана [Azerbaijan's New Path]. Azer-Media: Moscow. p. 169. Партия «Боз гурд» («Серые волки») возникла в рядах НФ, организационно оформилась весной 1992 г. Партия считала себя филиалом турецкой экстремистской организации «Серые волки», которая была запрещена в Турции..."</ref><ref>"Russian think tank labels Turkish far-right Grey Wolves as 'extremist' organisation". ahvalnews.com. Ahval. August 18, 2020. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.</ref><ref>Maguid, Mohamed Abdel (11 May 2017). "Grey Wolves, Turkey's armed proxy in Syria". Egypt Today. Archived from the original on 29 July 2020.</ref><ref>https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/11832701/Bangkok-bombing-Was-it-the-Grey-Wolves-of-Turkey.html</ref><ref>https://newscomworld.com/2020/11/03/france-to-ban-turkish-ultranationalist-grey-wolves/</ref><ref>https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_ny/1761133</ref>

===U.S===
On April 23, 2015, the U.S branch of the Grey Wolves held an event at which children wearing military camouflage colored pants and t-shirts marched and did pushups.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pqZLrm7Ilw</ref> Members of the Grey Wolves participated in the 2016 Turkish Day parade in New York City.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh4OKVHXTnQ</ref>

===Syria===
The Grey Wolves have been heavily involved in fighting alongside Al-Qaeda and the Turkish military in the Syrian Civil War.<ref>https://www.yenisafak.com/dunya/sultan-murat-tumen-komutanindan-firat-kalkani-aciklamasi-2785141</ref> A Turkish Grey Wolves member in Syria was photographed giving the groups' fascist salute while holding the cut off head of a Syrian soldier.<ref>https://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/gazeteci-murat-agirele-olum-tehdidi-1859492</ref> According to Egypt Today, the National intelligence Organization of Turkey "is believed to be recruiting retired military personnel to provide support for armed groups operating in Syria, through the Grey Wolves Brigade".<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20200729013856/https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/4984/Grey-Wolves-Turkey%E2%80%99s-armed-proxy-in-Syria</ref> Alparslan Celik, a Grey Wolves member killed Russian Air Force pilot Oleg Peshkov after his plane was shot down by the Turkish Air Force.<ref>https://gagrule.net/erdogan-has-created-a-private-military-paramilitary-system-such-as-the-gray-wolves/</ref> An Egyptian news site Youm7, picked up a document allegedly issued by Jaish-al-Fatah, which claimed that it conspired with the Grey Wolves in the December 2016 assassination of Andrei Karlov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey.<ref>https://www.youm7.com/story/2016/12/21/%D9%85%D9%88%D8%AC%D8%B2-%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B1-1-%D8%B8%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%B4-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D8%AA%D8%AD-%D9%8A%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%86-%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%A6%D9%88%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%AA%D9%87-%D8%B9%D9%86/3020497</ref>

===France===
In May 1984, Grey Wolves leader Abdullah Catli ordered the bombing of an Armenian genocide memorial in a Paris suburb. <ref>Grosscup, Beau (1991). The new explosion of terrorism. Far Hills, NJ: New Horizon Pr. p. 297. ISBN 978-0-88282-074-3.</ref> According to the French government, members of the Grey Wolves took part in a January 21, 2012 demonstration in Paris against the adoption of a bill criminalizing Armenian genocide denial in France.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20141102005304/http://www.lepoint.fr/monde/les-loups-sont-entres-dans-paris-29-03-2012-1699782_24.php</ref> In November 2020, France banned the Grey Wolves after the defacement of an Armenian Genocide memorial, the organizing of combat training camps in the Ardeche region and inciting violence against Kurds and Armenians.<ref>https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2020/11/04/en-france-le-mouvement-ultranationaliste-turc-des-loups-gris-officiellement-dissous_6058483_823448.html</ref>

===The Netherlands===
Organizations such as Turkish Federation Netherlands and Turkish Islamic Federation have links to the Grey Wolves.<ref>Avcı, Gamze (2004). "Religion, Transnationalism and Turks in Europe". In Çarkoğlu, Ali; Rubin, Barry (eds.). Turkey and the European Union: Domestic Politics, Economic Integration and International Dynamics. Routledge. p. 63. ISBN 978-1-135-76120-2.</ref> Grey Wolves activists have participated in local Dutch politics with varying successes.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20100305051707/http://www.xs4all.nl/~afa/comite/artikel/artikel130.html</ref>

===Russia===
Thousands of Turkish Grey Wolves members fought alongside [[Al-Qaeda]] terrorists in the Chechen Wars.<ref>Cooley, John K. (2002). Unholy Wars: Afghanistan, America and International Terrorism (3rd ed.). London: Pluto Press. p. 195. ISBN 978-0-7453-1917-</ref><ref>Goltz, Thomas (2003). Chechnya Diary: A War Correspondent's Story of Surviving the War in Chechnya. New York: Thomas Dunne Books. p. 22. ISBN 978-0-312-26874-9. </ref> Grey Wolves media outlets also yearly commemorate the death anniversary of Chechen Muslim terrorist [[Shamil Basayev]]. <ref> Twitter.com/zeytinburnuocak/status/1148858703552139264</ref><ref>Facebook.com/gungorenulkuocaklari/photos/kafkas-kartal%C4%B1-efsane-komutan-%C5%9Famil-basayevi-%C5%9Fehadetinin-sene-i-devriyesinde-rah/2000260183318916</ref>

===Sweden===
On September 13, 2015, there was an explosion at a Kurdish civil center in Stockholm, Sweden, after clashes between Turks and Kurds at a Grey Wolves rally.<ref>https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/increasing-tensions-see-resurgence-turkeys-far-right-street-movements</ref> In April 2016, images came out which showed Swedish housing minister Mehmet Kaplan having dinner with leaders of the Grey Wolves. <ref>https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/6411611</ref> Kaplan resigned after the release of a 2009 video in which he compared Israel's treatment of the Palestinians to that of the Jews by Nazi Germany. <ref>https://www.thelocal.se/20160425/green-party-sweden-crisis-romson-fridolin/</ref>

===Germany===
In a 2017 article published by the Federal Agency for Civic Education, the Grey Wolves have an estimated 18,000 members in Germany alone.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20200722040831/https://www.bpb.de/politik/extremismus/rechtsextremismus/260333/graue-woelfe-die-groesste-rechtsextreme-organisation-in-deutschland</ref> Additionally, Grey Wolves members have engaged in violence against Kurds and Armenians in Germany. <ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20141102014754/http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/graue-woelfe-tuerkische-nationalisten-in-deutschland-a-953197.html</ref>

===Austria===
In January 2020, 4 Turkish bus drivers were fired in Vienna for making the Grey Wolves sign. <ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20200728213820/https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2020/01/31/4-turkish-bus-drivers-fired-over-gray-wolf-sign-in-vienna</ref> On June 26, 2020, Turkish Grey Wolves members attacked Kurdish rallies in Vienna protesting Turkey's military operation in Iraqi Kurdistan.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20200731134913/https://ahvalnews.com/turks-austria/turkish-ultranationalists-attack-kurdish-rallies-vienna</ref>

==Assassination Attempt on the Pope==
Mehmet Ali Agca, a Turkish Muslim who shot and wounded [[Pope John Paul II]] in May 1981, was a known member of the Grey Wolves.<ref>https://www.internethaber.com/font-colorblueulkucu-reis-agcayi-anlattifont-1164595h.htm</ref> it is alleged that the head of the Grey Wolves, Abdullah Catli, had organized the assassination "in exchange for the sum of 3 million German Marks".<ref>https://mondediplo.com/1998/07/05turkey</ref>

==Anti-Armenian hate and violence==
In January 2004, the Grey Wolves blocked the screening of "Ararat", a movie about the [[Armenian Genocide]], in Turkey.<ref>"'Ararat'ın ertelenmesine Egoyan'dan tepki". Radikal (in Turkish). 7 January 2004. Archived from the original on 10 November 2014.</ref><ref>https://asbarez.com/turkish-extremists-scuttle-the-screening-of-ararat/</ref> On April 24, 2011, Sevag Balıkçı, a Turkish soldier of Armenian descent was killed by Turkish Grey Wolves member Kıvanç Ağaoğlu.<ref>https://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/70221/</ref>

During the 2020 Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, there were widespread attacks on Armenians in France by Grey Wolves members.<ref>https://zartonkmedia.com/2020/08/31/turkish-grey-wolves-members-attack-armenians-during-a-rally-in-france-on-july-24-criminal-cases-initiated/</ref><ref>https://news.am/eng/news/611489.html</ref>

On April 24, 2022, the Turkish foreign minister to Uruguay, Mevlut Cavusoglu taunted Armenian Genocide demonstrators with the hand sign of the Grey Wolves.<ref>https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1081409.html</ref>

==Anti-Greek violence==
The Grey Wolves routinely protest outside the Greek Orthodox Church's headquarters in Constantinople and burn effigies of the Church's patriarch. <ref>Alexopoulos, Dimitris (28 October 2005). "By the Grey Wolves Tension at the Patriarchate". Hellenic Radio.</ref> In January 2022, the Grey Wolves leader made threats against Greece stating that, ''"The Aegean will either be a sea of peace or the Turkish nation knows how to sign another victory with its blood and soul. Greece must return to the law of good neighbourliness while there is still time”''.<ref>https://greekcitytimes.com/2022/01/05/grey-wolves-leader-greece/</ref> Additionally, he said that, ''“The steel will of the Turk will be enough to burn the rival centres and harvest them like a crop, in the air, on land or at sea".
''

==Other Incidents of Violence==
In late November 2006, the Grey Wolves staged protests against Pope Benedict XVI visit to Turkey.<ref>https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-nov-25-fg-pope25-story.html</ref> On November 22, 2006, Grey Wolves protesters occupied the Haghia Sophia to perform Muslim prayers. They chanted slogans against the Pope such as, "Don't make a mistake Pope, don't try our patience."<ref>https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2006/nov/28/20061128-102232-9294r/</ref>

In July 2014, around a thousand people demonstrated in Kahramanmaras against the presence of Syrian refugees who fled the Syrian civil war. Many protesters made the sign of the Grey Wolves, blocked roads to the city, and removed Arabic language signs from stores. <ref>https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/hundreds-march-against-syrian-refugees-69122</ref> Some of the protesters also attacked a Syrian in a car, breaking the windows of the vehicle.

==See also==
*[[Star and Crescent]]

==References==

[[Category:Islamism]]
[[Category:Fascism]]
[[Category:Nazism]]
[[Category:Terrorism]]
[[Category:Racism]]
[[Category:Turkey]]
[[Category:Anti-Christianity]]
[[Category:Turkish Supremacism]]

Grey Wolves (Organization)

2023-03-03T12:18:05Z

Andrewlee:

The '''Grey Wolves''' (also known as Ülkü Ocakları) is a Turkish Islamist, [[fascist]]<ref>Taspinar, Omer (2005). "The Kurdish Question in Turkish Politics". Kurdish Nationalism and Political Islam in Turkey: Kemalist Identity in Transition. Middle East Studies: History, Politics & Law. New York and London: Routledge. pp. 92–94. doi:10.4324/9780203327036. ISBN 9780415512848.</ref><ref>Sullivan, Colleen (2011). "Grey Wolves". In Martin, Gus (ed.). The SAGE Encyclopedia of Terrorism (2nd ed.). Sage Publications. pp. 236–7.</ref> and [[neo-Nazi]] organization.<ref>https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17983/turkish-grey-wolves</ref> The Grey Wolves has been designated as a terrorist organization by France.<ref>https://www.dw.com/en/france-bans-turkish-ultra-nationalist-grey-wolves-group/a-55503469</ref> Turkish dictator Erdoğan and an Azerbaijani military general have made the hand sign of the Grey Wolves.<ref>https://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2018/03/11/erdogan-grey-wolves-video/</ref><ref>https://zartonkmedia.com/2020/12/10/azerbaijani-general-making-the-grey-wolves-sign-at-baku-parade/</ref>

==History==
The Grey Wolves was formed in the 1960s by former Turkish Army colonel, Alparslan Turkes, who was an open admirer of [[Adolf Hitler]] and [[Nazi]] ideology.<ref>https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/grey-wolves.htm</ref> Joshua D. Hendrick has compared the organization to the Nazi [[Schutzstaffel]]. <ref>Hendrick, Joshua D. (2013). Gülen: The Ambiguous Politics of Market Islam in Turkey and the World. New York: New York University Press.</ref>

==International Presence==
The Grey Wolves operates in numerous different countries such as Azerbaijan, Syria, Russia, Thailand, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and the U.S.<ref>Brzezinski, Zbigniew; Sullivan, Paige, eds. (1997). Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States: Documents, Data, and Analysis. Washington, D.C.: M. E. Sharpe. p. 616. ISBN 978-1-56324-637-1. It is also revealed that a new force of 200 armed members of the Grey Wolves organization has been dispatched from Turkey in preparation for a new Azeri offensive and to train units of the Azeri army.</ref><ref>Ali, Kyamal (18 February 2014). "Серые волки" собрались на охоту. ann.az (in Russian). Azerbaijan News Network. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. В 1995 году Верховный суд ликвидировал регистрацию «Боз Гурд» в связи с названием организации, известной в мире как террористическая.</ref><ref>Cherni︠a︡vskiĭ, Stanislav (2002). Новый путь Азербайджана [Azerbaijan's New Path]. Azer-Media: Moscow. p. 169. Партия «Боз гурд» («Серые волки») возникла в рядах НФ, организационно оформилась весной 1992 г. Партия считала себя филиалом турецкой экстремистской организации «Серые волки», которая была запрещена в Турции..."</ref><ref>"Russian think tank labels Turkish far-right Grey Wolves as 'extremist' organisation". ahvalnews.com. Ahval. August 18, 2020. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.</ref><ref>Maguid, Mohamed Abdel (11 May 2017). "Grey Wolves, Turkey's armed proxy in Syria". Egypt Today. Archived from the original on 29 July 2020.</ref><ref>https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/11832701/Bangkok-bombing-Was-it-the-Grey-Wolves-of-Turkey.html</ref><ref>https://newscomworld.com/2020/11/03/france-to-ban-turkish-ultranationalist-grey-wolves/</ref><ref>https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_ny/1761133</ref>

===U.S===
On April 23, 2015, the U.S branch of the Grey Wolves held an event at which children wearing military camouflage colored pants and t-shirts marched and did pushups.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pqZLrm7Ilw</ref> Members of the Grey Wolves participated in the 2016 Turkish Day parade in New York City.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh4OKVHXTnQ</ref>

===Syria===
The Grey Wolves have been heavily involved in fighting alongside Al-Qaeda and the Turkish military in the Syrian Civil War.<ref>https://www.yenisafak.com/dunya/sultan-murat-tumen-komutanindan-firat-kalkani-aciklamasi-2785141</ref> A Turkish Grey Wolves member in Syria was photographed giving the groups' fascist salute while holding the cut off head of a Syrian soldier.<ref>https://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/gazeteci-murat-agirele-olum-tehdidi-1859492</ref> According to Egypt Today, the National intelligence Organization of Turkey "is believed to be recruiting retired military personnel to provide support for armed groups operating in Syria, through the Grey Wolves Brigade".<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20200729013856/https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/4984/Grey-Wolves-Turkey%E2%80%99s-armed-proxy-in-Syria</ref> Alparslan Celik, a Grey Wolves member killed Russian Air Force pilot Oleg Peshkov after his plane was shot down by the Turkish Air Force.<ref>https://gagrule.net/erdogan-has-created-a-private-military-paramilitary-system-such-as-the-gray-wolves/</ref> An Egyptian news site Youm7, picked up a document allegedly issued by Jaish-al-Fatah, which claimed that it conspired with the Grey Wolves in the December 2016 assassination of Andrei Karlov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey.<ref>https://www.youm7.com/story/2016/12/21/%D9%85%D9%88%D8%AC%D8%B2-%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B1-1-%D8%B8%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%B4-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D8%AA%D8%AD-%D9%8A%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%86-%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%A6%D9%88%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%AA%D9%87-%D8%B9%D9%86/3020497</ref>

===France===
In May 1984, Grey Wolves leader Abdullah Catli ordered the bombing of an Armenian genocide memorial in a Paris suburb. <ref>Grosscup, Beau (1991). The new explosion of terrorism. Far Hills, NJ: New Horizon Pr. p. 297. ISBN 978-0-88282-074-3.</ref> According to the French government, members of the Grey Wolves took part in a January 21, 2012 demonstration in Paris against the adoption of a bill criminalizing Armenian genocide denial in France.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20141102005304/http://www.lepoint.fr/monde/les-loups-sont-entres-dans-paris-29-03-2012-1699782_24.php</ref> In November 2020, France banned the Grey Wolves after the defacement of an Armenian Genocide memorial, the organizing of combat training camps in the Ardeche region and inciting violence against Kurds and Armenians.<ref>https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2020/11/04/en-france-le-mouvement-ultranationaliste-turc-des-loups-gris-officiellement-dissous_6058483_823448.html</ref>

===The Netherlands===
Organizations such as Turkish Federation Netherlands and Turkish Islamic Federation have links to the Grey Wolves.<ref>Avcı, Gamze (2004). "Religion, Transnationalism and Turks in Europe". In Çarkoğlu, Ali; Rubin, Barry (eds.). Turkey and the European Union: Domestic Politics, Economic Integration and International Dynamics. Routledge. p. 63. ISBN 978-1-135-76120-2.</ref> Grey Wolves activists have participated in local Dutch politics with varying successes.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20100305051707/http://www.xs4all.nl/~afa/comite/artikel/artikel130.html</ref>

===Russia===
Thousands of Turkish Grey Wolves members fought alongside [[Al-Qaeda]] terrorists in the Chechen Wars.<ref>Cooley, John K. (2002). Unholy Wars: Afghanistan, America and International Terrorism (3rd ed.). London: Pluto Press. p. 195. ISBN 978-0-7453-1917-</ref><ref>Goltz, Thomas (2003). Chechnya Diary: A War Correspondent's Story of Surviving the War in Chechnya. New York: Thomas Dunne Books. p. 22. ISBN 978-0-312-26874-9. </ref> Grey Wolves media outlets also yearly commemorate the death anniversary of Chechen Muslim terrorist [[Shamil Basayev]]. <ref> Twitter.com/zeytinburnuocak/status/1148858703552139264</ref><ref>Facebook.com/gungorenulkuocaklari/photos/kafkas-kartal%C4%B1-efsane-komutan-%C5%9Famil-basayevi-%C5%9Fehadetinin-sene-i-devriyesinde-rah/2000260183318916</ref>

===Sweden===
On September 13, 2015, there was an explosion at a Kurdish civil center in Stockholm, Sweden, after clashes between Turks and Kurds at a Grey Wolves rally.<ref>https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/increasing-tensions-see-resurgence-turkeys-far-right-street-movements</ref> In April 2016, images came out which showed Swedish housing minister Mehmet Kaplan having dinner with leaders of the Grey Wolves. <ref>https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/6411611</ref> Kaplan resigned after the release of a 2009 video in which he compared Israel's treatment of the Palestinians to that of the Jews by Nazi Germany. <ref>https://www.thelocal.se/20160425/green-party-sweden-crisis-romson-fridolin/</ref>

===Germany===
In a 2017 article published by the Federal Agency for Civic Education, the Grey Wolves have an estimated 18,000 members in Germany alone.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20200722040831/https://www.bpb.de/politik/extremismus/rechtsextremismus/260333/graue-woelfe-die-groesste-rechtsextreme-organisation-in-deutschland</ref> Additionally, Grey Wolves members have engaged in violence against Kurds and Armenians in Germany. <ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20141102014754/http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/graue-woelfe-tuerkische-nationalisten-in-deutschland-a-953197.html</ref>

===Austria===
In January 2020, 4 Turkish bus drivers were fired in Vienna for making the Grey Wolves sign. <ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20200728213820/https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2020/01/31/4-turkish-bus-drivers-fired-over-gray-wolf-sign-in-vienna</ref> On June 26, 2020, Turkish Grey Wolves members attacked Kurdish rallies in Vienna protesting Turkey's military operation in Iraqi Kurdistan.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20200731134913/https://ahvalnews.com/turks-austria/turkish-ultranationalists-attack-kurdish-rallies-vienna</ref>

==Assassination Attempt on the Pope==
Mehmet Ali Agca, a Turkish Muslim who shot and wounded [[Pope John Paul II]] in May 1981, was a known member of the Grey Wolves.<ref>https://www.internethaber.com/font-colorblueulkucu-reis-agcayi-anlattifont-1164595h.htm</ref> it is alleged that the head of the Grey Wolves, Abdullah Catli, had organized the assassination "in exchange for the sum of 3 million German Marks".<ref>https://mondediplo.com/1998/07/05turkey</ref>

==Anti-Armenian hate and violence==
In January 2004, the Grey Wolves blocked the screening of "Ararat", a movie about the [[Armenian Genocide]], in Turkey.<ref>"'Ararat'ın ertelenmesine Egoyan'dan tepki". Radikal (in Turkish). 7 January 2004. Archived from the original on 10 November 2014.</ref><ref>https://asbarez.com/turkish-extremists-scuttle-the-screening-of-ararat/</ref> On April 24, 2011, Sevag Balıkçı, a Turkish soldier of Armenian descent was killed by Turkish Grey Wolves member Kıvanç Ağaoğlu.<ref>https://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/70221/</ref>

During the 2020 Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, there were widespread attacks on Armenians in France by Grey Wolves members.<ref>https://zartonkmedia.com/2020/08/31/turkish-grey-wolves-members-attack-armenians-during-a-rally-in-france-on-july-24-criminal-cases-initiated/</ref><ref>https://news.am/eng/news/611489.html</ref>

On April 24, 2022, the Turkish foreign minister to Uruguay, Mevlut Cavusoglu taunted Armenian Genocide demonstrators with the hand sign of the Grey Wolves.<ref>https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1081409.html</ref>

==Anti-Greek violence==
The Grey Wolves routinely protest outside the Greek Orthodox Church's headquarters in Constantinople and burn effigies of the Church's patriarch. <ref>Alexopoulos, Dimitris (28 October 2005). "By the Grey Wolves Tension at the Patriarchate". Hellenic Radio.</ref> In January 2022, the Grey Wolves leader made threats against Greece stating that, ''"The Aegean will either be a sea of peace or the Turkish nation knows how to sign another victory with its blood and soul. Greece must return to the law of good neighbourliness while there is still time”''.<ref>https://greekcitytimes.com/2022/01/05/grey-wolves-leader-greece/</ref> Additionally, he said that, ''“The steel will of the Turk will be enough to burn the rival centres and harvest them like a crop, in the air, on land or at sea".
''

==Other Incidents of Violence==
In late November 2006, the Grey Wolves staged protests against Pope Benedict XVI visit to Turkey.<ref>https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-nov-25-fg-pope25-story.html</ref> On November 22, 2006, Grey Wolves protesters occupied the Haghia Sophia to perform Muslim prayers. They chanted slogans against the Pope such as, "Don't make a mistake Pope, don't try our patience."<ref>https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2006/nov/28/20061128-102232-9294r/</ref>

In July 2014, around a thousand people demonstrated in Kahramanmaras against the presence of Syrian refugees who fled the Syrian civil war. Many protesters made the sign of the Grey Wolves, blocked roads to the city, and removed Arabic language signs from stores. <ref>https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/hundreds-march-against-syrian-refugees-69122</ref> Some of the protesters also attacked a Syrian in a car, breaking the windows of the vehicle.

==See also==
*[[Star and Crescent]]

==References==

[[Category:Islamism]]
[[Category:Fascism]]
[[Category:Nazism]]
[[Category:Terrorism]]
[[Category:Racism]]
[[Category:Turkey]]
[[Category:Anti-Christianity]]
[[Category:Turkish Supremacism]]

Turkiye

2023-03-03T12:12:32Z

Andrewlee: Correction

''For the animal with the same name see [[Turkey (bird)]]''.

{{Country
|name =''Türkiye Cumhuriyeti''
|map =Turkey rel 2006.jpg
|flag =Flag of Turkey.png
|arms =Emblem of Turkey.svg.png
|capital =Ankara
|capital-raw =
|government =Republic
|government-raw =
|language =Turkish
|king =
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =
|pm-raw =
|area =302,535 sq mi
|pop =85,000,000 (2020)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =$942,000,000,000 (2023)
|gdp-year =
|gdp-pc =$10,863 (2023)
|currency =Turkish lira
|idd =
|tld =
}}
The '''Republic of Türkiye''', formerly the '''Republic of Turkey''', is a transcontinental country occupying the Anatolian Peninsula of [[Western Asia]], as well as a small section of Southeastern [[Europe]] at the Bosporus Strait. Turkiye has been a member of [[NATO]] since 1952.

Turkey has many cultural heritage places. It is the land of the Seven Churches of [[Book of Revelation|Revelation]]. 89.5% of its people are [[Muslim]]s<ref>[https://t24.com.tr/haber/optimar-dan-din-inanc-anketi-yuzde-89-allah-in-varligina-ve-birligine-inaniyor,821459 Optimar'dan din-inanç anketi: Yüzde 89 Allah'ın varlığına ve birliğine inanıyor]</ref> and religion does not play a pivotal role in their lives. Turkey is more [[pro-life]] than most [[Europe]]an and [[Asia]]n countries. Turkey also prohibits openly [[homosexual]] persons from their military and bans [[same-sex marriage]].

==History==
[[Image:St. Sophie Turkey.jpg|right|280px|thumb|Hagia Sophia, Istanbul.]]
[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Mustafa Kemal Pasha]], celebrated by the Turkish State as a Turkish [[World War I]] hero and later known as Atatürk ("Father-Turk"), led the founding of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 after the collapse of the 600-year-old [[Ottoman Empire]] and a three-year war of independence. The empire, which at its peak controlled vast stretches of Northern Africa, Southeastern Europe, and Western Asia, had failed to keep pace with European social and technological developments. The rise of national consciousness impelled several national groups within the Empire to seek independence as nation-states, leading to the empire's fragmentation. This process culminated in the disastrous Ottoman participation in World War I as a German ally. Defeated, shorn of much of its former territory, and partly occupied by forces of the victorious European states, the Ottoman structure was repudiated by Turkish nationalists brought together under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal. The nationalists expelled invading Greek, Armenian, French, and British forces from Anatolia and Turkish Thrace in an armed and diplomatic struggle. After the victory, the politico-religious ruling institutions of the old empire (the sultanate and the caliphate) were abolished by the Turkish nationalist government to give way to the new republic.

The leaders of the republic concentrated on consolidating their power and modernizing and Westernizing what had been the empire's core—Asian Anatolia and a part of European Thrace. Social, political, linguistic, and economic reforms and attitudes decreed by Atatürk from 1922 to 1937 continue to be referred to as the ideological base of modern Turkey. In the post-Atatürk era, and especially after the military coup of 1960, this ideology came to be known as "Kemalism" and his reforms began to be referred to as "revolutions." Kemalism comprises a Turkish form of secularism, strong nationalism, statism, and to a degree a western orientation. The continued validity and applicability of Kemalism are the subject of lively debate in Turkey's political life. The current ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) comes from a tradition that challenges many of the Kemalist precepts and is driven in its reform efforts by a desire to achieve EU accession.

Turkey entered [[World War II]] on the Allied side until shortly before the war ended, becoming a charter member of the [[United Nations]]. Difficulties faced by [[Greece]] after World War II in quelling a communist rebellion and demands by the [[Soviet Union]] for military bases in the Turkish Straits prompted the United States to declare the [[Truman Doctrine]] in 1947. The doctrine enunciated American intentions to guarantee the security of Turkey and Greece and resulted in large scale U.S. military and economic aid under the [[Marshall Plan]]. After participating with United Nations forces in the [[Korean War|Korean conflict]], Turkey in 1952 joined the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] (NATO). Turkey is currently a [[European Union]] candidate, although this has been clouded by their refusal to acknowledge the [[Armenian genocide]].

==Disputed territories==
===Kurdistan===
:{{Main article|Kurdistan}}

===Liwa Iskanderoun (Hatay)===
In 1939, Turkey annexed Hatay State, present-day Hatay Province. Formerly it was ''Liwa Iskanderoun'' of the Mandate for Syria and Lebanon from 1921 to 1938. However, Syrian maps continue to include Hatay as part of Syrian territory.<ref>https://carnegie-mec.org/diwan/54340?lang=en</ref>

==People==
[[File:Istiklal Caddesi 06 24 09 0068.jpg|thumb|right|A busy day on İstiklal Avenue, Istanbul.]]
Modern Turkey encompasses bustling [[cosmopolitan]] centers, pastoral farming villages, barren wastelands, peaceful Aegean coastlines, and steep mountain regions. More than half of Turkey's population lives in urban areas that juxtapose Western lifestyles with more traditional ways of life.

Turkey is officially a [[secular state|secular]] country with no official religion since the constitutional amendment in 1928 and later strengthened by Atatürk's Reforms and the appliance of laicism by the country's founder and first president [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]] on February 5, 1937. Due to oppression of [[Christianity]], Turkey's population is nearly entirely (at least cultural) [[Muslim]]. Most Turkish Muslims follow the [[Sunni]] traditions of Islam, although a significant number follow Alevi and [[Shiite]] traditions. Questions regarding role of religion in society and government, the role of linguistic and ethnic identity, and the public's expectation to live in security dominate public discourse. Turkish citizens who assert a [[Kurds|Kurdish]] identity constitute an ethnic and linguistic group that is estimated at up to 12 million in number.
[[File:Iskenderun church.jpg|thumb|right|St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in İskenderun, Hatay.]]
*Population (2018): 82 million.
*Annual population growth rate (2017 est.): 1.24%.
*Ethnic groups: Turkish, Kurdish, other.
*Religions: Muslim (majority), Christian, [[Baha'i Faith|Baha'i]], and Jewish.
*Languages: Turkish (official and majority), Kurdish, Zaza, Arabic, Armenian, Greek.
*Education: Years compulsory—8. Attendance—97.6%. Literacy—86.5%. ''(it's not current data)''
*Health: Infant mortality rate—39.4/1,000. Life expectancy—68.5 yrs. ''(it's not current data)''
*Work force (23 million): Agriculture—35.6%; industry—17.5%; services—47.2%. ''(it's not current data)''

After [[World War I]] Turkey continued the [[Western world|West]]-oriented [[modernization]] initiated by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] dynasty and statesmen. Many things in Turkey contain a mixture of the West and the East, the old and the new, the traditional and the modern. When you visit even the smallest city in Turkey no matter how little its population is, you will find that different cultural elements, traditions, beliefs, languages or dialects live.<ref>[https://www.studyinturkey.gov.tr/StudyinTurkey/ShowDetail?rID=ctfC0sgwTeQ=&&cId=PE4Nr0mMoY4= Culture - Study in Turkey]</ref> Most of the Turks are said to be cultural or nominal Muslims and continue to practice [[Shamanism|shamanistic]] traditions from pre-Islamic heritage. Even those who have not done anything related to [[Islam]] in their lives see being Muslim as a part of their identity. Although, [[atheism]] and [[deism]] are increasing in Turkey, there is a growing amount of [[Islamism]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2018/04/turkey-why-so-many-turks-are-losing-faith-in-islam.html|title=Why so many Turks are losing faith in Islam|last=Akyol|first=Mustafa|date=2018-04-16|work=Al-Monitor|access-date=2018-04-21|language=en-us}}</ref><ref>[https://www.dw.com/en/atheism-grows-in-turkey-as-recep-tayyip-erdogan-urges-islam/a-47018029 Atheism grows in Turkey as Recep Tayyip Erdogan urges Islam]</ref><ref>[http://asianews.it/news-en/The-number-of-atheists-increasing-in-Turkey-45956.html The number of atheists increasing in Turkey]</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43981745 The young Turks rejecting Islam]</ref><ref>https://www.thecairoreview.com/essays/turkeys-pan-islamist-foreign-policy/</ref> Therefore, they may have a negative attitude towards [[Christianity]] or other religions. Because of historical hostilities and bigotry, some Turks are virulently [[Anti-Christian sentiment|anti-Christian]].<ref>https://www.jihadwatch.org/2020/03/turkey-muslims-screaming-allahu-akbar-disrupt-christian-funeral-desecrate-christian-graves</ref> Some people incite against Christians and the other non-[[Sunni]] religious minorities due to radical nature of Islamic cultural background. The governing [[Justice and Development Party|AKP]] in Turkey depicts Christians as a "threat to the stability of the nation". Turkish Christian citizens have often been stereotyped as not "real Turks" but as "Western collaborators" by this bigoted and prejudiced point of view.<ref>[https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/israel-zionism/2020/12/how-yasir-arafat-drove-christians-from-bethlehem/ How Yasir Arafat Drove Christians from Bethlehem] D. Weinberg, Mosaic Mag., Dec. 28, 2020.</ref>

==Government and political conditions==
The 1982 Constitution, drafted by the military in the wake of a 1980 military coup, proclaims Turkey's system of government as [[democracy|democratic]], [[secular state|secular]], and [[Parliamentary Republic|parliamentary]]. A [[Presidential Government|presidential system]] was adopted with a referendum in 2017; the new system came into effect with the presidential election in 2018 and gives the President complete control of the executive, including the power to issue decrees, appoint his own cabinet, draw up the budget, dissolve parliament by calling early elections, and pack the bureaucracy and the courts with political appointees. The office of Prime Minister has been abolished and its powers (together with those of the Cabinet) have been transferred to the President, who is the head of state and is elected for a five-year term by direct elections. [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] is the first president elected by direct voting. Turkey's constitution governs the legal framework of the country. It sets out the main principles of government and establishes Turkey as a unitary centralized state.

Executive power is exercized by the President, while the legislative power is vested in the unicameral parliament, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The judiciary is nominally independent from the executive and the legislature, but the constitutional changes that came into effect with the referendums in 2007, 2010 and 2017 gave larger powers to the President and the ruling party for appointing or dismissing judges and prosecutors. The Constitutional Court is charged with ruling on the conformity of laws and decrees with the constitution. The Council of State is the tribunal of last resort for administrative cases, and the High Court of Appeals for all others.
[[File:Turkish Parliament in Ankara.jpg|thumb|300px|The Parliament in Ankara.]]

Universal suffrage for both sexes has been applied throughout Turkey since 1933 and before most countries, and every Turkish citizen who has turned 18 years of age has the right to vote. There are 600 members of parliament who are elected for a five-year term by a party-list proportional representation system from 85 electoral districts. The Constitutional Court can strip the public financing of political parties that it deems anti-secular or separatist, or ban their existence altogether. The electoral threshold is 10 percent of the votes.

Supporters of [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Atatürk]]'s reforms are called Kemalists, as distinguished from [[Islamism|Islamists]], representing the two diverging views regarding the role of religion in legislation, education and public life. The Kemalist view supports a form of democracy with a laicist [[constitution]] and Westernized secular lifestyle, while maintaining the necessity of state intervention in the economy, education and other public services. Since its foundation as a republic in 1923, Turkey has developed a strong tradition of secularism. However, since the 1980s, issues such as income inequality and class distinction have given rise to Islamic [[populism]], a movement that supports a larger role for religion in government policies, and in theory supports obligation to authority, communal solidarity and social justice; though what that entails in practice is often contested. Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the [[Justice and Development Party]] has been described as becoming increasingly authoritarian. Prior to the constitutional referendum in 2017 the Council of Europe saw Turkey drifting towards an autocracy, warning of a "dramatic regression of its democratic order". Many elements in the constitutional reform package that was approved with the referendum in 2017 have increased concerns in the European Union regarding democracy and the separation of powers in Turkey.

As of 2017 the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index rates Turkey at 4.88 (on a 0–10 scale), classifying Turkey as a Hybrid Regime. In 2018, Freedom House rated Turkey at 32 (on a 0–100 scale) as Not Free.

Human-right abuses, especially against [[Christians]] remains a problem<ref>http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78844.htm</ref> and the frequency of violent attacks on Christian ministers and priests is still high.<ref>http://washingtontimes.com/upi/20070418-030533-9552</ref><ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5139408.stm</ref>

The [[Kurdish Worker Party]] (PKK), an [[far-left|extreme]] [[leftist]] ethnic nationalist and [[separatism|separatist]] –originally [[Marxism-Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]]– [[terrorism|terrorist]] organization, founded in 1978, seeks the foundation of an independent [[socialism|socialist]] [[Kurds|Kurdish]] state.<ref name="Jongerden">{{Cite journal|last=Jongerden|first=Joost|date=2017-10-01|title=Gender equality and radical democracy: Contractions and conflicts in relation to the "new paradigm" within the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)|url=https://journals.openedition.org/anatoli/618|journal=Anatoli. De l'Adriatique à la Caspienne. Territoires, Politique, Sociétés|language=en|issue=8|pages=233–256|doi=10.4000/anatoli.618|issn=2111-4064}}</ref> It is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey,<ref name="RadioFrance">{{cite news|url=http://www.english.rfi.fr/asia-pacific/20140116-turkey-spy-agency-denies-role-paris-kurds-murder-launches-probe|title=Turkey spy agency denies role in Paris Kurds murder, launches probe|date=16 January 2014|publisher=Radio France Internationale|access-date=5 February 2014}}</ref> the [[United States]],<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|title=Foreign Terrorist Organizations|url=https://www.state.gov/foreign-terrorist-organizations/|access-date=2021-03-10|website=United States Department of State|language=en-US}}</ref> the [[European Union]],<ref name=":10">{{Cite web|title=Turkey 2019 Report|url=https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/sites/near/files/20190529-turkey-report.pdf|access-date=16 December 2019|website=ec.europa.eu|page=5}}</ref> and some other countries.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web|last=department|first=Attorney-General's|title=Listed terrorist organisations|url=https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205054738/http://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx|archive-date=5 February 2016|access-date=18 December 2019|website=www.nationalsecurity.gov.au|language=en-au}}</ref><ref name="Japan_ban">{{cite web|title=MOFA: Implementation of the Measures including the Freezing of Assets against Terrorists and the Like|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406134416/http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html|archive-date=6 April 2013|access-date=21 November 2013}}</ref> The PKK was formed as part of the Kurdish nationalist schism within the Turkish [[communism|communist]] movement<ref name="Jongerden"/> and the growing discontent over the suppression of Turkey's Kurds, in an effort to establish linguistic, cultural, and political rights for the Kurdish minority.<ref name="Palgrave Macmillan">{{cite book|last1=Joseph|first1=J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G06BDAAAQBAJ|title=Turkey and the European Union internal dynamics and external challenges|date=2006|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|isbn=0230598587|location=Basingstoke [England]|page=100}}</ref> Following the military coup of 1980, the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in public and private life to prevent separatism.<ref name="NYTK">Toumani, Meline. [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/magazine/17turkey-t.html?ex=1361854800&en=df64cf85326e2103&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink Minority Rules], ''[[New York Times]]'', 17 February 2008</ref> Many who spoke, published, or sang in Kurdish were arrested and imprisoned.<ref name="Cambridge University Press">{{cite book|last1=Aslan|first1=Senem|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wTAWBQAAQBAJ|title=Nation Building in Turkey and Morocco|date=2014|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1107054608|page=134}}</ref> The PKK's response to these policies has been the bombing of downtowns, the massacre of civilians, and the destruction of schools and hospitals in the Kurdish-majority cities of Turkey.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10576100701558620|doi = 10.1080/10576100701558620|title = The Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) as Criminal Syndicate: Funding Terrorism through Organized Crime, A Case Study|year = 2007|last1 = Roth|first1 = Mitchel P.|last2 = Sever|first2 = Murat|journal = Studies in Conflict & Terrorism|volume = 30|issue = 10|pages = 901–920|s2cid = 110700560}}</ref><ref name="amnestysecurity"/><ref name="childsoldiers"/> It has faced condemnation by some countries and human rights organizations for the killing of teachers and civil servants,<ref name="amnestysecurity">{{Cite web | url = https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a9ea0.html | title = No Security Without Human Rights | publisher = [[Amnesty International]] | access-date = 1 February 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Öğretmen Necmettin Yılmaz'ın Öldürülmesini Kınıyoruz!|url=https://www.ihd.org.tr/ogretmen-necmettin-yilmazin-oldurulmesini-kiniyoruz/|access-date=2021-03-12|website=[[İnsan Hakları Derneği]]|language=tr}}</ref> using [[Suicide attack|suicide bombers]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Foreign diplomats, countries condemn Cizre attack - World News|url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/foreign-diplomats-countries-condemn-cizre-attack-103271|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Hürriyet Daily News|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=PKK claims deadly suicide bombing at Turkish police station|url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-claims-responsibility-suicide-bombing-left-11-dead-turkey-1381604350|access-date=27 December 2018|website=Middle East Eye|archive-date=14 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214114351/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-claims-responsibility-suicide-bombing-left-11-dead-turkey-1381604350|url-status=dead}}</ref> and recruiting child soldiers.<ref name="childsoldiers">{{Cite web | url = https://www.refworld.org/docid/498805c428.html | title = Child Soldiers Global Report 2001 - Turkey | publisher = [[Child Soldiers International]] | access-date = 1 February 2021 }}</ref><ref name="HRWCS">{{Cite web|date=2016-12-22|title=Iraq: Armed Groups Using Child Soldiers|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/12/22/iraq-armed-groups-using-child-soldiers-0|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Human Rights Watch|language=en}}</ref> It was armed by the [[Obama administration]].<ref>https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/antifa-ypg-pkk-ties-threaten-national-peace-in-west/1899520</ref> The PKK trained [[Antifa]] fighters in Northern [[Syria]].<ref>https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/war-on-terror/ypgpkk-recruited-foreign-fighters-from-antifa-groups-in-western-countries-report-says</ref>

[[File:Ankara panorama Turkey.jpg|thumb|center|700px|The capital Ankara.]]

{{Clear}}
===Principal government officials===
*President of the Republic — Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
*Vice President of the Republic — Fuat Oktay

===Military===
Turkiye is a member of NATO and has the largest manpower contingent and reserves of all NATO members.

During the 2022 [[Russo-Ukraine war]], Turkey sold large numbers of [[Bayraktar drone]]s to the [[Kyiv regime]]. <ref>https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/04/27/drones-russia-ukraine-war-donbas/</ref>

===Foreign relations===
[[File:Turkish girls laughing in calimanesti.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Turkish dancers in a festival in [[Romania]].]]
Turkey's primary political, economic, and security ties are with the West, although some voices call for a more "Eurasian" orientation.

Turkey entered NATO in 1952 and serves as the organization's vital eastern anchor, controlling the straits leading from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and sharing a border with Syria, Iraq, and Iran. A NATO headquarters is located in Izmir. Besides its relationships with NATO and the EU, Turkey is a member of the OECD, the Council of Europe, and OSCE. Turkey also is a member of the UN and the Islamic Conference Organization (OIC). In December 1999, Turkey became a candidate for EU membership. On December 17, 2004, the EU decided to begin formal accession negotiations with Turkey in October 2005.

Turkey and the EU formed a customs union beginning January 1, 1996. The agreement covers industrial and processed agricultural goods. Turkey is harmonizing its laws and regulations with EU standards. Turkey adopted the EU's Common External Tariff regime, effectively lowering Turkey's tariffs for third countries, including the United States.

On October 3, 2005, Turkey and the EU reached agreement for Turkey to begin negotiations on accession to the European Union. Turkey and EU officials have begun the process of screening Turkey's laws and policies in order to begin negotiating the individual chapters required for ultimate EU accession. However, this admission request has not been without criticism,<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2420697.stm</ref> including:
*Serious human rights violations<ref>http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20070419-0809-italy-turkey-eu.html</ref>
*Refusal to admit genocide of [[Armenia]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6043730.stm</ref>
*Refusal to recognize [[Cyprus]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6153186.stm</ref>
*Only 3% of Turkey is in [[Europe]]
*Threat of increasing [[Islamic]] fundamentalism<ref>http://www.freemuslims.org/news/article.php?article=1761</ref>

Turkey opened and provisionally closed in 2006 one EU negotiating chapter on science and technology. Another chapter on statistics was opened in February 2007, and two more are expected to be opened by July 1, 2007. Eight chapters, mostly related to trade, were suspended by the European Council in December 2006 after Turkey declined to open its ports and airports to Cypriot vessels—a commitment Turkey made as part of the Ankara Protocol and its EU Customs Union membership.

Turkey is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It has signed free trade agreements with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Israel, and many other countries. In 1992 Turkey and 10 other regional nations formed the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Council to expand regional trade and economic cooperation. Turkey chaired BSEC in 2007 and hosted in Istanbul the 15th BSEC Summit in June 2007.

====Relations with the United States====
U.S.-Turkish friendship dates to the late 18th century and was officially sealed by a treaty in 1830. The present close relationship began with the agreement of July 12, 1947, which implemented the Truman Doctrine. As part of the cooperative effort to further Turkish economic and military self-reliance, the United States has loaned and granted Turkey more than $12.5 billion in economic aid and more than $14 billion in military assistance.

U.S.-Turkish relations focus on areas such as strategic energy cooperation, trade and investment, security ties, regional stability, the global war on terrorism, and human rights progress. Relations were strained when Turkey refused in March 2003 to allow U.S. troops to deploy through its territory to Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom, but regained momentum steadily thereafter and mutual interests remain strong across a wide spectrum of issues. On July 5, 2006, Secretary Rice and then-Foreign Minister Gül signed a Shared Vision Statement to highlight the common values and goals between our two countries and to lay out a framework for increased strategic dialogue.

The U.S. and Turkey have had a Joint Economic Commission and a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, which last met in Washington in April 2007, for several years. In 2002, the two countries indicated their joint intent to upgrade bilateral economic relations by launching an Economic Partnership Commission, which last convened in Ankara in February 2007. In 2006, Turkish exports to the U.S. totaled about $5.4 billion, and U.S. exports to Turkey totaled $5.7 billion.

[[Condoleezza Rice]] ones described Turkey as “a vital and strategic partner of the United States”. But with the rise of Erdoğan and Obama, relations fell into a different mode.<ref>https://www.nationalreview.com/article/348422/erdo%C4%9Fan%E2%80%99s-agenda</ref> Erdoğan - a dictator<ref>[https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/11/turkey-erdogan-coup-hdp-pkk-syria-gulen-ypg Turkey's Fascist Slide] Güney Işıkara, Alp Kayserilioğlu, Max Zirngast, Jacobin, Nov 10, 2016.
Turkish president Erdoğan is wielding the state to attack anyone who won't capitulate to his authoritarian rule.</ref><ref>[https://m.imdb.com/title/tt7054718/ Erdogan: The Dictator's Republic], Imbd,
2017</ref><ref>[https://stockholmcf.org/turkish-journalist-goes-on-trial-for-insulting-erdogan-in-fascist-dictatorship-column/ Turkish journalist goes on trial for insulting Erdoğan in ‘fascist dictatorship’ column] SCF, June 28, 2018</ref><ref>[https://euobserver.com/political/147624 What does Erdoğan want?] Robert Debeuf, EU Observer, Mar 4, 2020.

"Shameful...unacceptable....blackmail...dictator." European leaders didn't spare their words to condemn Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan after his decision on Friday (28 February) to open its border with Greece and let refugees enter into Europe.

On Monday, Erdoğan stepped up his game warning that "millions" of refugees would come to Europe.

He also said he refused €1m in extra cash, saying "we don't want this money".

Despite this statement, former Nato secretary-general Willy Claes said on Belgian television that Erdogan is "a dictator" and that "all he wants is money".</ref><ref>[https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/11/16/biden-action-against-erdogan/amp/ Will Biden Turn His Words Against Dictator Erdoğan Into Action?]Adulrahman Taleb, Greek City Times, Nov 16, 2020.
Furthermore, Biden openly attacked dictator Erdoğan and called him an “autocrat” and promised that he will work with the opposition parties.</ref><ref>[https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/12/31/what-the-biden-presidency-means-for-turkey-and-erdogan-post-trump.html Erdogan should be very, very worried': What the Biden presidency means for Turkey] Natasha Turak, CNBC, Dec 31, 2020.
In an interview last January, Biden called Erdogan an “autocrat,” criticized his actions toward the Kurds..</ref><ref>[https://amp.france24.com/en/20190313-netanyahu-hits-back-turkeys-dictator-erdogan Netanyahu hits back at 'Turkey's dictator Erdogan'], ''France 24'', Mar 13, 2019.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday slammed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a "dictator" and "a joke"...</ref> ethnic-cleanser, oppressor, Islamist<ref>[https://www.theglobalist.com/turkey-recep-tayyip-erdogan-eu-nato-kurds-islamism/ J’Accuse Erdogan] Alon Ben-Meir, Globalist, July 9, 2020.

The weaker Recep Tayyip Erdogan is at home politically, the longer the list of the Turkish President’s transgressions gets.
<blockquote>
A preliminary list of Erdogan’s transgressions

For evidence, it is useful to assemble the list of transgressions that seem to be the only category Erdogan still seems to “excel” in.
Most fundamentally, Erdogan is violating every article of human rights in his own country, while being keen on destabilizing other countries by exploiting their weaknesses and resources in order to promote his nationalist agenda.

I count altogether 13 specific major transgressions:

1.Erdogan continues to commit gross human rights violations in Turkey by using the failed 2016 military coup as an excuse to silence the media.
Based on a judiciary that, for the most part, barely deserves that name, Erdogan has jailed over 150 journalists, incarcerated around 80,000 suspected of affiliation with the Gülen movement and purged 150,000 military officers and civil servants.

2.Erdogan engages in a systematic operation of ethnic cleansing against minorities in Turkey and northern Syria.

He invaded Syria to both prevent the Syrian Kurdish community from establishing autonomous rule, and to entrench for Turkey a permanent foothold in the country, which is bound to only prolong the conflict and further destabilize the region.

3.Erdogan systematically persecutes his own Kurdish community and continues a 50-year-old war against the PKK, which he views as a terrorist organization.

He also steadfastly refuses to resume negotiations with the Kurds — which account for as much as 20% of Turkey’s population — and end the carnage that has taken the lives of approximately 40,000 on both sides.

4.Erdogan purchased Russia’s [[S-400]] air defense system which, once operational, NATO fears would seriously compromise the alliance’s intelligence sharing and technology — apart from being fully incompatible with NATO systems.

5.Erdogan invested heavily in promoting his Islamic agenda by supporting anti-Western Islamist extremist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and even ISIS.

6.Erdogan uses Islam as a political tool by building mosques and other Islamic theological institutions. He also sends his imams to teach and preach his brand of religious nationalism in many countries in the Middle East and the Balkans.

7.Erdogan violated U.S. sanctions against Iran by laundering up to $20 billion in an oil-for-gold scheme from 2012-2018, and he continues to cooperate and trade with Tehran in defiance of Western interests.

8.Erdogan made a deal with Putin in late 2019 to patrol northern Syria while working closely with Moscow and Tehran to delineate their spheres of influence in the country. He is thus leaving Syria de facto a divided state under their control, while significantly diminishing what’s left of Western influence.

9.Erdogan sent troops to support Libya’s Government of National Accord in an effort to establish a strong foothold in the country, exploiting its oil and gas and threatening the free flow of energy from the Eastern Mediterranean.

10.Erdogan violated a UN arms embargo while resisting NATO’s peace plans in Libya, including exercising extreme aggression against NATO ally France’s warship enforcing the embargo.

11.Erdogan blocked a NATO defense plan for the Baltics and Poland and regularly intimidates Greece, a NATO member state, violating the country’s airspace with Turkish military jets.

12.Erdogan is adamant about drilling for gas in the territorial waters of Cyprus and has begun plans to expand drilling off the coast of the Greek island of Crete.

In that pursuit, he remains at odds with Greece, Cyprus, Egypt and Israel over ownership of natural resources, threatening to use force to secure “his share” which could burgeon into a violent conflict.

13.Last but not least, Erdogan perpetuated the heated conflict with Cyprus over his demand that his puppet — the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus — enjoy equal political power to the Republic of Cyprus, which is four times larger in population and territory and is an EU member state.</blockquote></ref><ref>[https://www.politico.eu/article/mario-draghi-dictator-recep-tayyip-erdogan-sofagate/ Italy’s Draghi slams Erdoğan as a ‘dictator’ after Sofagate] Giorgio Leali, Politico, April 8, 2021.

Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi slammed Turkish Presiden Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.</ref> fascist.<ref>[https://turkeypurge.com/exiled-novelist-asli-erdogan-turkey-has-a-fascist-regime-it-is-not-yet-1940s-germany-but-1930s Exiled novelist Aslı Erdoğan: Turkey has a fascist regime. It is not yet 1940s Germany, but 1930s] TurkeyPurge, Aug 6, 2018</ref><ref>[https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article/turkey-turning-into-fascist-dictatorship-meps-told Turkey turning into "fascist dictatorship", MEPs told] Martin Banks, The Parliament Magazine,, Nov 8, 2016

A leading Turkish opposition parliamentarian says that Turkey has been turned into a "fascist dictatorship" under its President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.</ref><ref>[https://amp2.handelsblatt.com/recep-tayyip-erdogan-birth-of-a-dictator/23540062.html Recep Tayyip Erdogan: Birth of a Dictator] von John Blau, Handelsblatt, Dec 8, 2016.</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/19/jailed-turkish-editor-can-dundar-slams-eu-deal-with-erdogans-fascist-governmentJailed Turkish Editor slams EU deal with Erdogan's fascist government], Kareem Shaheen, Guardian, January 19, 2016</ref><ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/theworldpost/wp/2018/06/25/erdogan/ Opinion: Turkey takes a big step toward nationalist fascism] Omer Taspinar, Washington Post, June 25, 2018</ref> For example, he equated [[Zionism]] with [[Fascism]], [[John Kerry]] criticized him for this statement.<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/01/official-kerry-to-rap-turkey-pm-for-remark/</ref> Yet, after Erdogan previously using extreme silly diatribe against Israel, he changed his attitude towards Israel. In Mar 2022,<ref>AFP News Agency@AFP·2h#UPDATE Israel and Turkey proclaimed a new era in relations on Wednesday following more than a decade of diplomatic rupture, as Israeli President Isaac Herzog made a landmark visit to Ankara. ([http://twitter.com/AFP/status/1501659337646911499 Mar 9, 2022]).</ref> [[Israel]] and Turkey proclaimed a new era in relations on Wednesday following more than a decade of diplomatic rupture, as Israeli President Isaac Herzog made a landmark visit to Ankara.

====Relations with Russia====

NATO member [[Turkiye]] welcomed American sanctioned oligarchs in [[Russia]] to do business in Turkiye.<ref>https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/russian-oligarchs-can-come-to-turkey-if-legal-minister-says-172518</ref>

As a condition to turn Turkiye into a natural gas hub as an alternative for Russian gas supplies to Europe after the American [[terrorist]] attack on the civilian infrastructure of [[Germany]] and the [[Nordstream]] pipelines, Turkiye agreed to cease sales of weapons and [[Bayraktar]] drones to the [[Kyiv regime]].

==Economy==
[[Image:Framed medallion Turkey.jpg|300px|thumb|Framed medallion.]]
Turkey is a large, middle-income country with relatively few natural resources. Its economy is currently in transition from a high degree of reliance on agriculture and heavy industrial economy to a more diversified economy with an increasingly large and globalized services sector. Coming out of a tradition of a state-directed economy that was relatively closed to the outside world, Prime Minister and then President Turgut Özal began to open up the economy in the 1980s, leading to the signing of a Customs Union with the European Union in 1995. In the 1990s, Turkey's economy suffered from a series of coalition governments with weak economic policies, leading to high-inflation boom-and-bust cycles that culminated in a severe banking and economic crisis in 2001 and a deep economic downturn (GNP fell 9.5% in 2001) and increase in unemployment.

Turkey's economy has recovered strongly from the 2001 thanks to good monetary and fiscal policies and structural economic reforms made with the support of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The independence of the Central Bank has been firmly established, a floating exchange rate system has been put in place, and the government's overall budget deficit has been substantially reduced. In addition, there have been substantial reforms in the financial, energy, and telecommunications sectors that have included the privatization of several large state-owned institutions.

Turkey's economy grew an average of 7.5% per year from 2002 through 2006—one of the highest sustained rates of growth in the world. It is expected to grow about 6.1% in 2007. Inflation and interest rates have fallen significantly, the currency has stabilized, government debt has declined to more supportable levels, and business and consumer confidence have returned. At the same time, booming economic growth has contributed to a growing current account deficit. Though Turkey's vulnerabilities have been greatly reduced, the economy could still face problems in the event there is a sudden change in investor sentiment that leads to a sharp fall in the exchange rate. Continued implementation of reforms, including tight fiscal policy, is essential to sustain growth and stability.

After years of low levels of foreign direct investment (FDI), in 2006, Turkey succeeded in attracting $18.9 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) and is expected to attract a similar level in 2007. A series of large privatizations, the stability fostered by the start of Turkey's EU accession negotiations, strong and stable growth, and structural changes in the banking, retail, and telecommunications sectors have all contributed to the rise in foreign investment. Turkey has taken steps to improve its investment climate through administrative streamlining, an end to foreign investment screening, and strengthened intellectual property legislation. However, a number of disputes involving foreign investors in Turkey and certain policies, such as high taxation and continuing gaps in the intellectual property regime, inhibit investment. Turkey has a number of bilateral investment and tax treaties, including with the United States, which guarantee free repatriation of capital in convertible currencies and eliminate double taxation.
*GDP: $750 billion (2020)
*GDP per capita: $8,824 (2020)
*Annual real GDP growth rate: (2004) (+) 8.9%; (2005) 7.4%; (2006) 6.0%.
*Annual inflation rate /CPI: (2003) 18.4%; (2004) 9.3%; (2005) 7.7%; (2006) 9.7%.
*Natural resources: Coal, chromium, mercury, copper, boron, oil, gold.
*Agriculture (10.8% of GNP): Major cash crops—cotton, sugar beets, hazelnuts, wheat, barley, and tobacco. Provides 26% of jobs and 4% of exports.
*Industry (25.4% of GNP): Major growth sector, types—automotive, electronics, food processing, textiles, basic metals, chemicals, and petrochemicals. Provides 20% of jobs.
*Trade: Exports (merchandise)--(2005) $73.1 billion; (2006) $83.5 billion: textiles and apparel, industrial machinery, iron and steel, electronics, petroleum products, and motor vehicles. Imports (merchandise)--(2005) $116 billion; (2006) 135.5 billion: petroleum, machinery, motor vehicles, electronics, iron and steel, plastics precious metals. Major partners—Germany, U.S., Italy, France, Russia, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, U.K.

====Failed European Union accession====
Turkey's principal ongoing economic challenge is providing for the needs of a fast-growing, young population. Raising living standards to those prevalent in Europe will require high rates of GDP growth sustained over many years. This would entail structural reforms that encourage both domestic and foreign investment. Principal areas for reform identified by Western financial intuitions include increasing flexibility in the labor market, making the educational sector more responsive to the needs of the economy and ensuring faster and more predictable operation of the judicial system.

As a former aspirant to membership in the European Union, Turkey aimed to adopt the EU's basic system of national law and regulation (the acquis communautaire) by 2014. However, Obama administration weapons and support for Kurdish terrorists, and racist Western attitudes toward Turks, pretty well scuttled Turkey's desire to join the EU.

====Energy====
[[File:Electric Energy Grid Turkey.jpg|thumb|360px|Electric Energy Grid.]]
Installed electricity generation capacity in Turkey reached 35,600 megawatts (MW) as of 2004. Fossil fuels account for 71% of the total installed capacity and hydro, geothermal, and wind account for the remaining 28%. The growth in electricity generation has remained below electricity demand until recently, which has made Turkey a net importer of electricity since 1997. The growth of energy demand slowed somewhat as a result of the 2001 economic crisis, but has picked up again. Turkish authorities expect a significant electricity shortfall unless new facilities become operational. The Government of Turkey took some important steps in 2001 to liberalize its energy sector, including passage of the Electricity Market Law and establishment of the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA). However, the government has moved slowly to follow through on plans to liberalize and privatize the electricity and natural gas sectors. In 2004, the High Planning Council approved the Electricity Sector Reform Strategy to renew the reform process.

Oil provides about 43% of Turkey's total energy requirements; around 90% is imported. Domestic production is mostly from small fields in the southeast. New exploration is taking place in the eastern Black Sea. In 2004, the Parliament approved a petroleum market reform bill that liberalized consumer prices and would lead to the privatization of the state refining company TUPRAS. TUPRAS was privatized in 2005, but this has been held up by court cases still in process. Turkey has a refining capacity of 802,275 barrels per day (b/d).

Turkey acts as an important link in the East-West Southern Energy Corridor bringing Caspian, Central Asian, and Middle Eastern energy to Europe and world markets. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which came online in July 2006, delivers 1 million b/d of petroleum, and in 2007, the South Caucasus Pipeline (from Shah Deniz) is expected to bring natural gas from Azerbaijan to Turkey. Turkey is building an interconnector pipeline to Greece, an important step in bringing Caspian natural gas to Europe via Turkey.

====Telecommunications====
[[File:Turk map.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Map of Turkey.]]
Parliament enacted legislation separating telecommunications policy and regulatory functions in January 2000, by establishing an independent regulatory body, the Telecommunication Authority. The Authority is responsible for issuing licenses, supervising operators, and taking necessary technical measures against violations of the rules. Most regulatory functions of the Transport Ministry were transferred to the Authority, and the regulator is slowly gaining competence and independence. The long-expected privatization of the state-owned telecommunications company was accomplished by the sale of 55% of Turk Telekom to the Saudi-owned Oger Group in November 2005. With liberalization and growth in the economy, there is growing competition for Internet provision, but Turk Telekom remains the sole provider of ADSL wide band Internet.

====Environment====
[[File:TurkishForest.jpg|thumb|left|280px|Turkish forest.]]
With the establishment of the Environment Ministry in 1991, Turkey began to make significant progress addressing its most pressing environmental problems. The most dramatic improvements were significant reductions of air pollution in Istanbul and Ankara. However, progress has been slow on the remaining—and serious—environmental challenges facing Turkey.

In 2003, the Ministry of Environment was merged with the Forestry Ministry. With its goal to join the EU, Turkey has made commendable progress in updating and modernizing its environmental legislation. However, environmental concerns are not fully integrated into public decision-making and enforcement can be weak. Turkey faces a backlog of environmental problems, requiring enormous outlays for infrastructure. The most pressing needs are for water treatment plants, wastewater treatment facilities, solid waste management, and conservation of biodiversity. The discovery of a number of chemical waste sites in 2006 has highlighted weakness in environmental law and oversight.
{{Clear}}

====Transportation====
The Turkish Government gives a special priority to major infrastructure projects, especially in the transport sector. The government is in the process of building new airports and highways, thanks to an increased public investment budget. The government will realize many of these projects by utilizing the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.

== See also ==
[[File:Blue mosque Istanbul Turkey.jpg|thumb|The Blue Mosque, Istanbul.]]
*[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]]
*[[Battle of Adrianople]]
*[[Oriental art]]
*[[Göbekli Tepe]]
*[[Catal Huyuk|Çatalhöyük]]
*[[Grey Wolves]]
{{Clear}}

== External links ==
*[http://bertschlossberg.blogspot.com/ A Turkish Delight: they think so in Israel also!]

==References==
{{reflist}}

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|style=" background-color: none;"| This work is in the [[Public Domain]] in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the U.S. Code
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{{Asian Countries}}

[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:NATO Members]]
[[Category:Turkey]]
[[Category:Muslim-Majority Countries]]

Turkiye

2022-06-17T14:45:34Z

Andrewlee: /* Social conditions */

''For the animal with the same name see [[Turkey (bird)]]''.

{{Country
|name =''Türkiye Cumhuriyeti''
|map =Turkey rel 2006.jpg
|flag =Flag of Turkey.png
|arms =Emblem of Turkey.svg.png
|capital =Ankara
|capital-raw =
|government =Republic
|government-raw =
|language =Turkish
|king =
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =
|pm-raw =
|area =302,535 sq mi
|pop =85,000,000 (2020)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =$794,000,000,000 (2021)
|gdp-year =
|gdp-pc =$9,327 (2021)
|currency =Turkish lira
|idd =
|tld =
}}
The '''Republic of Turkey''' ('''Republic of Turkiye''') is a transcontinental country occupying the Anatolian Peninsula of [[Western Asia]], as well as a small section of Southeastern [[Europe]] at the Bosporus Strait.

Turkey has many cultural heritage places. It is the land of the Seven Churches of [[Book of Revelation|Revelation]]. 89.5% of its people are [[Muslim]]s<ref>[https://t24.com.tr/haber/optimar-dan-din-inanc-anketi-yuzde-89-allah-in-varligina-ve-birligine-inaniyor,821459 Optimar'dan din-inanç anketi: Yüzde 89 Allah'ın varlığına ve birliğine inanıyor]</ref> and religion does not play a pivotal role in their lives. Turkey is also more [[pro-life]] than most [[Europe]]an and [[Asia]]n countries.

Turkey has been a "democratic" member of [[NATO]] since 1952; Turkey prohibits openly [[homosexual]] persons from their military and bans [[same-sex marriage]].

==History==
[[Image:St. Sophie Turkey.jpg|right|280px|thumb|Hagia Sophia, Istanbul.]]
[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Mustafa Kemal Pasha]], celebrated by the Turkish State as a Turkish [[World War I]] hero and later known as Atatürk ("Father-Turk"), led the founding of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 after the collapse of the 600-year-old [[Ottoman Empire]] and a three-year war of independence. The empire, which at its peak controlled vast stretches of Northern Africa, Southeastern Europe, and Western Asia, had failed to keep pace with European social and technological developments. The rise of national consciousness impelled several national groups within the Empire to seek independence as nation-states, leading to the empire's fragmentation. This process culminated in the disastrous Ottoman participation in World War I as a German ally. Defeated, shorn of much of its former territory, and partly occupied by forces of the victorious European states, the Ottoman structure was repudiated by Turkish nationalists brought together under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal. The nationalists expelled invading Greek, Armenian, French, and British forces from Anatolia and Turkish Thrace in an armed and diplomatic struggle. After the victory, the politico-religious ruling institutions of the old empire (the sultanate and the caliphate) were abolished by the Turkish nationalist government to give way to the new republic.

The leaders of the republic concentrated on consolidating their power and modernizing and Westernizing what had been the empire's core—Asian Anatolia and a part of European Thrace. Social, political, linguistic, and economic reforms and attitudes decreed by Atatürk from 1922 to 1937 continue to be referred to as the ideological base of modern Turkey. In the post-Atatürk era, and especially after the military coup of 1960, this ideology came to be known as "Kemalism" and his reforms began to be referred to as "revolutions." Kemalism comprises a Turkish form of secularism, strong nationalism, statism, and to a degree a western orientation. The continued validity and applicability of Kemalism are the subject of lively debate in Turkey's political life. The current ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) comes from a tradition that challenges many of the Kemalist precepts and is driven in its reform efforts by a desire to achieve EU accession.

Turkey entered [[World War II]] on the Allied side until shortly before the war ended, becoming a charter member of the [[United Nations]]. Difficulties faced by [[Greece]] after World War II in quelling a communist rebellion and demands by the [[Soviet Union]] for military bases in the Turkish Straits prompted the United States to declare the [[Truman Doctrine]] in 1947. The doctrine enunciated American intentions to guarantee the security of Turkey and Greece and resulted in large scale U.S. military and economic aid under the [[Marshall Plan]]. After participating with United Nations forces in the [[Korean War|Korean conflict]], Turkey in 1952 joined the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] (NATO). Turkey is currently a [[European Union]] candidate, although this has been clouded by their refusal to acknowledge the [[Armenian genocide]].

==Disputed territories==
===Kurdistan===
:{{Main article|Kurdistan}}

===Liwa Iskanderoun (Hatay)===
In 1939, Turkey annexed Hatay State, present-day Hatay Province. Formerly it was ''Liwa Iskanderoun'' of the Mandate for Syria and Lebanon from 1921 to 1938. However, Syrian maps continue to include Hatay as part of Syrian territory.<ref>https://carnegie-mec.org/diwan/54340?lang=en</ref>

==People==
[[File:Istiklal Caddesi 06 24 09 0068.jpg|thumb|right|A busy day on İstiklal Avenue, Istanbul.]]
Modern Turkey encompasses bustling [[cosmopolitan]] centers, pastoral farming villages, barren wastelands, peaceful Aegean coastlines, and steep mountain regions. More than half of Turkey's population lives in urban areas that juxtapose Western lifestyles with more traditional ways of life.

Turkey is officially a [[secular state|secular]] country with no official religion since the constitutional amendment in 1928 and later strengthened by Atatürk's Reforms and the appliance of laicism by the country's founder and first president [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]] on February 5, 1937. Due to oppression of [[Christianity]], Turkey's population is nearly entirely (at least cultural) [[Muslim]]. Most Turkish Muslims follow the [[Sunni]] traditions of Islam, although a significant number follow Alevi and [[Shiite]] traditions. Questions regarding role of religion in society and government, the role of linguistic and ethnic identity, and the public's expectation to live in security dominate public discourse. Turkish citizens who assert a [[Kurds|Kurdish]] identity constitute an ethnic and linguistic group that is estimated at up to 12 million in number.
[[File:Iskenderun church.jpg|thumb|right|St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in İskenderun, Hatay.]]
*Population (2018): 82 million.
*Annual population growth rate (2017 est.): 1.24%.
*Ethnic groups: Turkish, Kurdish, other.
*Religions: Muslim (majority), Christian, [[Baha'i Faith|Baha'i]], and Jewish.
*Languages: Turkish (official and majority), Kurdish, Zaza, Arabic, Armenian, Greek.
*Education: Years compulsory—8. Attendance—97.6%. Literacy—86.5%. ''(it's not current data)''
*Health: Infant mortality rate—39.4/1,000. Life expectancy—68.5 yrs. ''(it's not current data)''
*Work force (23 million): Agriculture—35.6%; industry—17.5%; services—47.2%. ''(it's not current data)''

After [[World War I]] Turkey continued the [[Western world|West]]-oriented [[modernization]] initiated by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] dynasty and statesmen. Many things in Turkey contain a mixture of the West and the East, the old and the new, the traditional and the modern. When you visit even the smallest city in Turkey no matter how little its population is, you will find that different cultural elements, traditions, beliefs, languages or dialects live.<ref>[https://www.studyinturkey.gov.tr/StudyinTurkey/ShowDetail?rID=ctfC0sgwTeQ=&&cId=PE4Nr0mMoY4= Culture - Study in Turkey]</ref> Most of the Turks are said to be cultural or nominal Muslims and continue to practice [[Shamanism|shamanistic]] traditions from pre-Islamic heritage. Even those who have not done anything related to [[Islam]] in their lives see being Muslim as a part of their identity. Although, [[atheism]] and [[deism]] are increasing in Turkey, there is a growing amount of [[Islamism]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2018/04/turkey-why-so-many-turks-are-losing-faith-in-islam.html|title=Why so many Turks are losing faith in Islam|last=Akyol|first=Mustafa|date=2018-04-16|work=Al-Monitor|access-date=2018-04-21|language=en-us}}</ref><ref>[https://www.dw.com/en/atheism-grows-in-turkey-as-recep-tayyip-erdogan-urges-islam/a-47018029 Atheism grows in Turkey as Recep Tayyip Erdogan urges Islam]</ref><ref>[http://asianews.it/news-en/The-number-of-atheists-increasing-in-Turkey-45956.html The number of atheists increasing in Turkey]</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43981745 The young Turks rejecting Islam]</ref><ref>https://www.thecairoreview.com/essays/turkeys-pan-islamist-foreign-policy/</ref> Therefore, they may have a negative attitude towards [[Christianity]] or other religions. Because of historical hostilities and bigotry, some Turks are virulently [[Anti-Christian sentiment|anti-Christian]].<ref>https://www.jihadwatch.org/2020/03/turkey-muslims-screaming-allahu-akbar-disrupt-christian-funeral-desecrate-christian-graves</ref> Some people incite against Christians and the other non-[[Sunni]] religious minorities due to radical nature of Islamic cultural background. The governing [[Justice and Development Party|AKP]] in Turkey depicts Christians as a "threat to the stability of the nation". Turkish Christian citizens have often been stereotyped as not "real Turks" but as "Western collaborators" by this bigoted and prejudiced point of view.<ref>[https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/israel-zionism/2020/12/how-yasir-arafat-drove-christians-from-bethlehem/ How Yasir Arafat Drove Christians from Bethlehem] D. Weinberg, Mosaic Mag., Dec. 28, 2020.</ref>

==Social conditions==
===Persecution of Christians===
Christians are viciously persecuted in Turkey.<ref>https://www.hudson.org/research/preview/16832-turkey-s-christians-face-increasingly-dangerous-persecution</ref> It is common for churches to be confiscated, shuttered, torn down or converted into mosques. In 2020, Turkish president Erdoğan, converted the [[Hagia Sophia]] back into a mosque and resumed Muslim prayers. According to numerous sources, Christian refugees from the Middle East living in Turkey have been treated with contempt and isolated in remote locations.

===Attacks on Christians and churches===
In 2006, a Muslim killed a Catholic priest at the Saint Maria Catholic Church while he was praying.<ref>https://m.bianet.org/english/minorities/194935-attack-on-saint-maria-catholic-church-in-trabzon</ref>

On April 18, 2007, a group of young Turkish Muslims, broke into a Bible publishing house in Malatya. Two Turkish Christian and a German Christian employees working there were bound, sadistically tortured for hours on end and beheaded.<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/story/turkish-officials-5-more-detained-after-attack-on-christian-publishing-house</ref><ref>[http://www.gofbw.com/print.asp?ID=7257 Group of young Muslims murders 3 Christians in Turkey] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103221900/http://www.gofbw.com/print.asp?ID=7257 |date=January 3, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://articles.latimes.com/2007/apr/19/world/fg-christians19 |title=3 men slain at Bible publishing firm in Turkey |last=King |first=Laura |date=April 19, 2007 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=May 20, 2009}}</ref><ref>[http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,478074,00.html Attack on Christians in Turkey - Three Killed at Bible Publishing Firm], [[Der Spiegel]], April 18, 2007</ref> The accused later said that, ''"We didn't do this for ourselves, but for our religion. Let this be a lesson to enemies of our religion."''

In 2012, an 85 year old Armenian woman living in Istanbul was stabbed to death in her apartment. Afterwards, the murderer carved a crucifix on her naked corpse.<ref>https://www.economist.com/charlemagne/2013/01/29/the-ghosts-of-1915</ref>

In May 2019, an 86 year old Greek man was found murdered in his home, with his hands and feet tied. He was reportedly tortured.<ref>https://www.persecution.org/2019/05/16/possible-hate-murder-turkey/</ref>

In late 2019, a 16 year old Turkish Muslim stabbed a Korean Christian evangelist to death.<ref>https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/cwn/2019/november/lsquo-they-came-to-kill-him-rsquo-evangelist-dies-after-being-stabbed-in-the-heart-on-streets-of-turkey</ref>

On May 8, 2020, a Muslim tried to torch a church that had previously been vandalized with graffiti.<ref>https://en.armradio.am/2020/05/09/armenian-church-in-istanbul-attacked/</ref>

===Vandalism of Christian cemeteries===
In October 2006, the Çakmak Spiritual Christian cemetery in Turkey was vandalized. The grave was found robbed and filled with trash.<ref>http://molokane.org/places/Turkey/Kars/2006_Cemetery.html</ref>

On February 14, 2020, gravestones in the Ortaköy Christian cemetery in Ankara were destroyed.<ref>https://en.protothema.gr/attacks-on-christian-cemeteries-alarm-turkeys-christians/</ref> On the same day, vandals broke a cross of a deceased woman's grave. A few days earlier, a group of Muslims shouting "Allahu Akbar" tried to sabotage the burial service.<ref>https://haber.sat7turk.com/hate-attack-on-the-latin-catholic-cemetery-in-trabzon/</ref>

In August 2020, graves in an Armenian cemetery were desecrated.<ref>https://www.turkishminute.com/2020/08/13/graves-in-armenian-cemetery-vandalized-amid-growing-hostility-against-minorities-in-turkey/</ref>

In August 2021, Turkish Muslims bulldozed an Armenian cemetery and smashed the gravestones and bones.<ref>https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Van:-Armenian-cemetery-bulldozed,-tombstones-and-bones-smashed-53901.html</ref>

===Racism===
It is common for Syrian Arabs to be attacked and beaten up by fascist gangs in Turkey.<ref>https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/north-africa-west-asia/race-and-racism-in-modern-turkey/</ref> On March 29, 2021, a Syrian refugee family had rocks thrown at their home.<ref>https://www.duvarenglish.com/syrian-refugee-family-target-of-racist-attack-in-southeast-turkey-news-56845</ref> A Turkish [[neo-Nazi]] group beat up an Afghan refugee.<ref>https://www.duvarenglish.com/turkish-neo-nazi-group-beats-afghan-refugee-shares-disturbing-video-news-60017</ref>

==Government and political conditions==
The 1982 Constitution, drafted by the military in the wake of a 1980 military coup, proclaims Turkey's system of government as [[democracy|democratic]], [[secular state|secular]], and [[Parliamentary Republic|parliamentary]]. A [[Presidential Government|presidential system]] was adopted with a referendum in 2017; the new system came into effect with the presidential election in 2018 and gives the President complete control of the executive, including the power to issue decrees, appoint his own cabinet, draw up the budget, dissolve parliament by calling early elections, and pack the bureaucracy and the courts with political appointees. The office of Prime Minister has been abolished and its powers (together with those of the Cabinet) have been transferred to the President, who is the head of state and is elected for a five-year term by direct elections. [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] is the first president elected by direct voting. Turkey's constitution governs the legal framework of the country. It sets out the main principles of government and establishes Turkey as a unitary centralized state.

Executive power is exercized by the President, while the legislative power is vested in the unicameral parliament, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The judiciary is nominally independent from the executive and the legislature, but the constitutional changes that came into effect with the referendums in 2007, 2010 and 2017 gave larger powers to the President and the ruling party for appointing or dismissing judges and prosecutors. The Constitutional Court is charged with ruling on the conformity of laws and decrees with the constitution. The Council of State is the tribunal of last resort for administrative cases, and the High Court of Appeals for all others.
[[File:Turkish Parliament in Ankara.jpg|thumb|300px|The Parliament in Ankara.]]

Universal suffrage for both sexes has been applied throughout Turkey since 1933 and before most countries, and every Turkish citizen who has turned 18 years of age has the right to vote. There are 600 members of parliament who are elected for a five-year term by a party-list proportional representation system from 85 electoral districts. The Constitutional Court can strip the public financing of political parties that it deems anti-secular or separatist, or ban their existence altogether. The electoral threshold is 10 percent of the votes.

Supporters of [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Atatürk]]'s reforms are called Kemalists, as distinguished from [[Islamism|Islamists]], representing the two diverging views regarding the role of religion in legislation, education and public life. The Kemalist view supports a form of democracy with a laicist [[constitution]] and Westernized secular lifestyle, while maintaining the necessity of state intervention in the economy, education and other public services. Since its foundation as a republic in 1923, Turkey has developed a strong tradition of secularism. However, since the 1980s, issues such as income inequality and class distinction have given rise to Islamic [[populism]], a movement that supports a larger role for religion in government policies, and in theory supports obligation to authority, communal solidarity and social justice; though what that entails in practice is often contested. Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the [[Justice and Development Party]] has been described as becoming increasingly authoritarian. Prior to the constitutional referendum in 2017 the Council of Europe saw Turkey drifting towards an autocracy, warning of a "dramatic regression of its democratic order". Many elements in the constitutional reform package that was approved with the referendum in 2017 have increased concerns in the European Union regarding democracy and the separation of powers in Turkey.

As of 2017 the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index rates Turkey at 4.88 (on a 0–10 scale), classifying Turkey as a Hybrid Regime. In 2018, Freedom House rated Turkey at 32 (on a 0–100 scale) as Not Free.

Human-right abuses, especially against [[Christians]] remains a problem<ref>http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78844.htm</ref> and the frequency of violent attacks on Christian ministers and priests is still high.<ref>http://washingtontimes.com/upi/20070418-030533-9552</ref><ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5139408.stm</ref>

The [[Kurdish Worker Party]] (PKK), an [[far-left|extreme]] [[leftist]] ethnic nationalist and [[separatism|separatist]] –originally [[Marxism-Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]]– [[terrorism|terrorist]] organization, founded in 1978, seeks the foundation of an independent [[socialism|socialist]] [[Kurds|Kurdish]] state.<ref name="Jongerden">{{Cite journal|last=Jongerden|first=Joost|date=2017-10-01|title=Gender equality and radical democracy: Contractions and conflicts in relation to the "new paradigm" within the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)|url=https://journals.openedition.org/anatoli/618|journal=Anatoli. De l'Adriatique à la Caspienne. Territoires, Politique, Sociétés|language=en|issue=8|pages=233–256|doi=10.4000/anatoli.618|issn=2111-4064}}</ref> It is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey,<ref name="RadioFrance">{{cite news|url=http://www.english.rfi.fr/asia-pacific/20140116-turkey-spy-agency-denies-role-paris-kurds-murder-launches-probe|title=Turkey spy agency denies role in Paris Kurds murder, launches probe|date=16 January 2014|publisher=Radio France Internationale|access-date=5 February 2014}}</ref> the [[United States]],<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|title=Foreign Terrorist Organizations|url=https://www.state.gov/foreign-terrorist-organizations/|access-date=2021-03-10|website=United States Department of State|language=en-US}}</ref> the [[European Union]],<ref name=":10">{{Cite web|title=Turkey 2019 Report|url=https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/sites/near/files/20190529-turkey-report.pdf|access-date=16 December 2019|website=ec.europa.eu|page=5}}</ref> and some other countries.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web|last=department|first=Attorney-General's|title=Listed terrorist organisations|url=https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205054738/http://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx|archive-date=5 February 2016|access-date=18 December 2019|website=www.nationalsecurity.gov.au|language=en-au}}</ref><ref name="Japan_ban">{{cite web|title=MOFA: Implementation of the Measures including the Freezing of Assets against Terrorists and the Like|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406134416/http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html|archive-date=6 April 2013|access-date=21 November 2013}}</ref> The PKK was formed as part of the Kurdish nationalist schism within the Turkish [[communism|communist]] movement<ref name="Jongerden"/> and the growing discontent over the suppression of Turkey's Kurds, in an effort to establish linguistic, cultural, and political rights for the Kurdish minority.<ref name="Palgrave Macmillan">{{cite book|last1=Joseph|first1=J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G06BDAAAQBAJ|title=Turkey and the European Union internal dynamics and external challenges|date=2006|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|isbn=0230598587|location=Basingstoke [England]|page=100}}</ref> Following the military coup of 1980, the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in public and private life to prevent separatism.<ref name="NYTK">Toumani, Meline. [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/magazine/17turkey-t.html?ex=1361854800&en=df64cf85326e2103&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink Minority Rules], ''[[New York Times]]'', 17 February 2008</ref> Many who spoke, published, or sang in Kurdish were arrested and imprisoned.<ref name="Cambridge University Press">{{cite book|last1=Aslan|first1=Senem|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wTAWBQAAQBAJ|title=Nation Building in Turkey and Morocco|date=2014|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1107054608|page=134}}</ref> The PKK's response to these policies has been the bombing of downtowns, the massacre of civilians, and the destruction of schools and hospitals in the Kurdish-majority cities of Turkey.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10576100701558620|doi = 10.1080/10576100701558620|title = The Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) as Criminal Syndicate: Funding Terrorism through Organized Crime, A Case Study|year = 2007|last1 = Roth|first1 = Mitchel P.|last2 = Sever|first2 = Murat|journal = Studies in Conflict & Terrorism|volume = 30|issue = 10|pages = 901–920|s2cid = 110700560}}</ref><ref name="amnestysecurity"/><ref name="childsoldiers"/> It has faced condemnation by some countries and human rights organizations for the killing of teachers and civil servants,<ref name="amnestysecurity">{{Cite web | url = https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a9ea0.html | title = No Security Without Human Rights | publisher = [[Amnesty International]] | access-date = 1 February 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Öğretmen Necmettin Yılmaz'ın Öldürülmesini Kınıyoruz!|url=https://www.ihd.org.tr/ogretmen-necmettin-yilmazin-oldurulmesini-kiniyoruz/|access-date=2021-03-12|website=[[İnsan Hakları Derneği]]|language=tr}}</ref> using [[Suicide attack|suicide bombers]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Foreign diplomats, countries condemn Cizre attack - World News|url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/foreign-diplomats-countries-condemn-cizre-attack-103271|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Hürriyet Daily News|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=PKK claims deadly suicide bombing at Turkish police station|url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-claims-responsibility-suicide-bombing-left-11-dead-turkey-1381604350|access-date=27 December 2018|website=Middle East Eye|archive-date=14 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214114351/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-claims-responsibility-suicide-bombing-left-11-dead-turkey-1381604350|url-status=dead}}</ref> and recruiting child soldiers.<ref name="childsoldiers">{{Cite web | url = https://www.refworld.org/docid/498805c428.html | title = Child Soldiers Global Report 2001 - Turkey | publisher = [[Child Soldiers International]] | access-date = 1 February 2021 }}</ref><ref name="HRWCS">{{Cite web|date=2016-12-22|title=Iraq: Armed Groups Using Child Soldiers|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/12/22/iraq-armed-groups-using-child-soldiers-0|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Human Rights Watch|language=en}}</ref> It was armed by the [[Obama administration]].<ref>https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/antifa-ypg-pkk-ties-threaten-national-peace-in-west/1899520</ref> The PKK trained [[Antifa]] fighters in Northern [[Syria]].<ref>https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/war-on-terror/ypgpkk-recruited-foreign-fighters-from-antifa-groups-in-western-countries-report-says</ref>

[[File:Ankara panorama Turkey.jpg|thumb|center|700px|The capital Ankara.]]

{{Clear}}
===Principal government officials===
*President of the Republic — Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
*Vice President of the Republic — Fuat Oktay

===Military===
Turkiye is a member of NATO and has the largest manpower contingent and reserves of all NATO members.

During the 2022 [[Russo-Ukraine war]], Turkey sold large numbers of [[Bayraktar drone]]s to the [[Kyiv regime]]. <ref>https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/04/27/drones-russia-ukraine-war-donbas/</ref>

===Foreign relations===
[[File:Turkish girls laughing in calimanesti.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Turkish dancers in a festival in [[Romania]].]]
Turkey's primary political, economic, and security ties are with the West, although some voices call for a more "Eurasian" orientation.

Turkey entered NATO in 1952 and serves as the organization's vital eastern anchor, controlling the straits leading from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and sharing a border with Syria, Iraq, and Iran. A NATO headquarters is located in Izmir. Besides its relationships with NATO and the EU, Turkey is a member of the OECD, the Council of Europe, and OSCE. Turkey also is a member of the UN and the Islamic Conference Organization (OIC). In December 1999, Turkey became a candidate for EU membership. On December 17, 2004, the EU decided to begin formal accession negotiations with Turkey in October 2005.

Turkey and the EU formed a customs union beginning January 1, 1996. The agreement covers industrial and processed agricultural goods. Turkey is harmonizing its laws and regulations with EU standards. Turkey adopted the EU's Common External Tariff regime, effectively lowering Turkey's tariffs for third countries, including the United States.

On October 3, 2005, Turkey and the EU reached agreement for Turkey to begin negotiations on accession to the European Union. Turkey and EU officials have begun the process of screening Turkey's laws and policies in order to begin negotiating the individual chapters required for ultimate EU accession. However, this admission request has not been without criticism,<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2420697.stm</ref> including:
*Serious human rights violations<ref>http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20070419-0809-italy-turkey-eu.html</ref>
*Refusal to admit genocide of [[Armenia]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6043730.stm</ref>
*Refusal to recognize [[Cyprus]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6153186.stm</ref>
*Only 3% of Turkey is in [[Europe]]
*Threat of increasing [[Islamic]] fundamentalism<ref>http://www.freemuslims.org/news/article.php?article=1761</ref>

Turkey opened and provisionally closed in 2006 one EU negotiating chapter on science and technology. Another chapter on statistics was opened in February 2007, and two more are expected to be opened by July 1, 2007. Eight chapters, mostly related to trade, were suspended by the European Council in December 2006 after Turkey declined to open its ports and airports to Cypriot vessels—a commitment Turkey made as part of the Ankara Protocol and its EU Customs Union membership.

Turkey is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It has signed free trade agreements with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Israel, and many other countries. In 1992 Turkey and 10 other regional nations formed the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Council to expand regional trade and economic cooperation. Turkey chaired BSEC in 2007 and hosted in Istanbul the 15th BSEC Summit in June 2007.

====Relations with the United States====
U.S.-Turkish friendship dates to the late 18th century and was officially sealed by a treaty in 1830. The present close relationship began with the agreement of July 12, 1947, which implemented the Truman Doctrine. As part of the cooperative effort to further Turkish economic and military self-reliance, the United States has loaned and granted Turkey more than $12.5 billion in economic aid and more than $14 billion in military assistance.

U.S.-Turkish relations focus on areas such as strategic energy cooperation, trade and investment, security ties, regional stability, the global war on terrorism, and human rights progress. Relations were strained when Turkey refused in March 2003 to allow U.S. troops to deploy through its territory to Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom, but regained momentum steadily thereafter and mutual interests remain strong across a wide spectrum of issues. On July 5, 2006, Secretary Rice and then-Foreign Minister Gül signed a Shared Vision Statement to highlight the common values and goals between our two countries and to lay out a framework for increased strategic dialogue.

The U.S. and Turkey have had a Joint Economic Commission and a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, which last met in Washington in April 2007, for several years. In 2002, the two countries indicated their joint intent to upgrade bilateral economic relations by launching an Economic Partnership Commission, which last convened in Ankara in February 2007. In 2006, Turkish exports to the U.S. totaled about $5.4 billion, and U.S. exports to Turkey totaled $5.7 billion.

[[Condoleezza Rice]] ones described Turkey as “a vital and strategic partner of the United States”. But with the rise of Erdoğan and Obama, relations fell into a different mode.<ref>https://www.nationalreview.com/article/348422/erdo%C4%9Fan%E2%80%99s-agenda</ref> Erdoğan - a dictator<ref>[https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/11/turkey-erdogan-coup-hdp-pkk-syria-gulen-ypg Turkey's Fascist Slide] Güney Işıkara, Alp Kayserilioğlu, Max Zirngast, Jacobin, Nov 10, 2016.
Turkish president Erdoğan is wielding the state to attack anyone who won't capitulate to his authoritarian rule.</ref><ref>[https://m.imdb.com/title/tt7054718/ Erdogan: The Dictator's Republic], Imbd,
2017</ref><ref>[https://stockholmcf.org/turkish-journalist-goes-on-trial-for-insulting-erdogan-in-fascist-dictatorship-column/ Turkish journalist goes on trial for insulting Erdoğan in ‘fascist dictatorship’ column] SCF, June 28, 2018</ref><ref>[https://euobserver.com/political/147624 What does Erdoğan want?] Robert Debeuf, EU Observer, Mar 4, 2020.

"Shameful...unacceptable....blackmail...dictator." European leaders didn't spare their words to condemn Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan after his decision on Friday (28 February) to open its border with Greece and let refugees enter into Europe.

On Monday, Erdoğan stepped up his game warning that "millions" of refugees would come to Europe.

He also said he refused €1m in extra cash, saying "we don't want this money".

Despite this statement, former Nato secretary-general Willy Claes said on Belgian television that Erdogan is "a dictator" and that "all he wants is money".</ref><ref>[https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/11/16/biden-action-against-erdogan/amp/ Will Biden Turn His Words Against Dictator Erdoğan Into Action?]Adulrahman Taleb, Greek City Times, Nov 16, 2020.
Furthermore, Biden openly attacked dictator Erdoğan and called him an “autocrat” and promised that he will work with the opposition parties.</ref><ref>[https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/12/31/what-the-biden-presidency-means-for-turkey-and-erdogan-post-trump.html Erdogan should be very, very worried': What the Biden presidency means for Turkey] Natasha Turak, CNBC, Dec 31, 2020.
In an interview last January, Biden called Erdogan an “autocrat,” criticized his actions toward the Kurds..</ref><ref>[https://amp.france24.com/en/20190313-netanyahu-hits-back-turkeys-dictator-erdogan Netanyahu hits back at 'Turkey's dictator Erdogan'], ''France 24'', Mar 13, 2019.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday slammed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a "dictator" and "a joke"...</ref> ethnic-cleanser, oppressor, Islamist<ref>[https://www.theglobalist.com/turkey-recep-tayyip-erdogan-eu-nato-kurds-islamism/ J’Accuse Erdogan] Alon Ben-Meir, Globalist, July 9, 2020.

The weaker Recep Tayyip Erdogan is at home politically, the longer the list of the Turkish President’s transgressions gets.
<blockquote>
A preliminary list of Erdogan’s transgressions

For evidence, it is useful to assemble the list of transgressions that seem to be the only category Erdogan still seems to “excel” in.
Most fundamentally, Erdogan is violating every article of human rights in his own country, while being keen on destabilizing other countries by exploiting their weaknesses and resources in order to promote his nationalist agenda.

I count altogether 13 specific major transgressions:

1.Erdogan continues to commit gross human rights violations in Turkey by using the failed 2016 military coup as an excuse to silence the media.
Based on a judiciary that, for the most part, barely deserves that name, Erdogan has jailed over 150 journalists, incarcerated around 80,000 suspected of affiliation with the Gülen movement and purged 150,000 military officers and civil servants.

2.Erdogan engages in a systematic operation of ethnic cleansing against minorities in Turkey and northern Syria.

He invaded Syria to both prevent the Syrian Kurdish community from establishing autonomous rule, and to entrench for Turkey a permanent foothold in the country, which is bound to only prolong the conflict and further destabilize the region.

3.Erdogan systematically persecutes his own Kurdish community and continues a 50-year-old war against the PKK, which he views as a terrorist organization.

He also steadfastly refuses to resume negotiations with the Kurds — which account for as much as 20% of Turkey’s population — and end the carnage that has taken the lives of approximately 40,000 on both sides.

4.Erdogan purchased Russia’s S-400 air defense system which, once operational, NATO fears would seriously compromise the alliance’s intelligence sharing and technology — apart from being fully incompatible with NATO systems.

5.Erdogan invested heavily in promoting his Islamic agenda by supporting anti-Western Islamist extremist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and even ISIS.

6.Erdogan uses Islam as a political tool by building mosques and other Islamic theological institutions. He also sends his imams to teach and preach his brand of religious nationalism in many countries in the Middle East and the Balkans.

7.Erdogan violated U.S. sanctions against Iran by laundering up to $20 billion in an oil-for-gold scheme from 2012-2018, and he continues to cooperate and trade with Tehran in defiance of Western interests.

8.Erdogan made a deal with Putin in late 2019 to patrol northern Syria while working closely with Moscow and Tehran to delineate their spheres of influence in the country. He is thus leaving Syria de facto a divided state under their control, while significantly diminishing what’s left of Western influence.

9.Erdogan sent troops to support Libya’s Government of National Accord in an effort to establish a strong foothold in the country, exploiting its oil and gas and threatening the free flow of energy from the Eastern Mediterranean.

10.Erdogan violated a UN arms embargo while resisting NATO’s peace plans in Libya, including exercising extreme aggression against NATO ally France’s warship enforcing the embargo.

11.Erdogan blocked a NATO defense plan for the Baltics and Poland and regularly intimidates Greece, a NATO member state, violating the country’s airspace with Turkish military jets.

12.Erdogan is adamant about drilling for gas in the territorial waters of Cyprus and has begun plans to expand drilling off the coast of the Greek island of Crete.

In that pursuit, he remains at odds with Greece, Cyprus, Egypt and Israel over ownership of natural resources, threatening to use force to secure “his share” which could burgeon into a violent conflict.

13.Last but not least, Erdogan perpetuated the heated conflict with Cyprus over his demand that his puppet — the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus — enjoy equal political power to the Republic of Cyprus, which is four times larger in population and territory and is an EU member state.</blockquote></ref><ref>[https://www.politico.eu/article/mario-draghi-dictator-recep-tayyip-erdogan-sofagate/ Italy’s Draghi slams Erdoğan as a ‘dictator’ after Sofagate] Giorgio Leali, Politico, April 8, 2021.

Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi slammed Turkish Presiden Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.</ref> fascist.<ref>[https://turkeypurge.com/exiled-novelist-asli-erdogan-turkey-has-a-fascist-regime-it-is-not-yet-1940s-germany-but-1930s Exiled novelist Aslı Erdoğan: Turkey has a fascist regime. It is not yet 1940s Germany, but 1930s] TurkeyPurge, Aug 6, 2018</ref><ref>[https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article/turkey-turning-into-fascist-dictatorship-meps-told Turkey turning into "fascist dictatorship", MEPs told] Martin Banks, The Parliament Magazine,, Nov 8, 2016

A leading Turkish opposition parliamentarian says that Turkey has been turned into a "fascist dictatorship" under its President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.</ref><ref>[https://amp2.handelsblatt.com/recep-tayyip-erdogan-birth-of-a-dictator/23540062.html Recep Tayyip Erdogan: Birth of a Dictator] von John Blau, Handelsblatt, Dec 8, 2016.</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/19/jailed-turkish-editor-can-dundar-slams-eu-deal-with-erdogans-fascist-governmentJailed Turkish Editor slams EU deal with Erdogan's fascist government], Kareem Shaheen, Guardian, January 19, 2016</ref><ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/theworldpost/wp/2018/06/25/erdogan/ Opinion: Turkey takes a big step toward nationalist fascism] Omer Taspinar, Washington Post, June 25, 2018</ref> For example, he equated [[Zionism]] with [[Fascism]], [[John Kerry]] criticized him for this statement.<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/01/official-kerry-to-rap-turkey-pm-for-remark/</ref> Yet, after Erdogan previously using extreme silly diatribe against Israel, he changed his attitude towards Israel. In Mar 2022,<ref>AFP News Agency@AFP·2h#UPDATE Israel and Turkey proclaimed a new era in relations on Wednesday following more than a decade of diplomatic rupture, as Israeli President Isaac Herzog made a landmark visit to Ankara. ([http://twitter.com/AFP/status/1501659337646911499 Mar 9, 2022]).</ref> [[Israel]] and Turkey proclaimed a new era in relations on Wednesday following more than a decade of diplomatic rupture, as Israeli President Isaac Herzog made a landmark visit to Ankara.

==Economy==
[[Image:Framed medallion Turkey.jpg|300px|thumb|Framed medallion.]]
Turkey is a large, middle-income country with relatively few natural resources. Its economy is currently in transition from a high degree of reliance on agriculture and heavy industrial economy to a more diversified economy with an increasingly large and globalized services sector. Coming out of a tradition of a state-directed economy that was relatively closed to the outside world, Prime Minister and then President Turgut Özal began to open up the economy in the 1980s, leading to the signing of a Customs Union with the European Union in 1995. In the 1990s, Turkey's economy suffered from a series of coalition governments with weak economic policies, leading to high-inflation boom-and-bust cycles that culminated in a severe banking and economic crisis in 2001 and a deep economic downturn (GNP fell 9.5% in 2001) and increase in unemployment.

Turkey's economy has recovered strongly from the 2001 thanks to good monetary and fiscal policies and structural economic reforms made with the support of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The independence of the Central Bank has been firmly established, a floating exchange rate system has been put in place, and the government's overall budget deficit has been substantially reduced. In addition, there have been substantial reforms in the financial, energy, and telecommunications sectors that have included the privatization of several large state-owned institutions.

Turkey's economy grew an average of 7.5% per year from 2002 through 2006—one of the highest sustained rates of growth in the world. It is expected to grow about 6.1% in 2007. Inflation and interest rates have fallen significantly, the currency has stabilized, government debt has declined to more supportable levels, and business and consumer confidence have returned. At the same time, booming economic growth has contributed to a growing current account deficit. Though Turkey's vulnerabilities have been greatly reduced, the economy could still face problems in the event there is a sudden change in investor sentiment that leads to a sharp fall in the exchange rate. Continued implementation of reforms, including tight fiscal policy, is essential to sustain growth and stability.

After years of low levels of foreign direct investment (FDI), in 2006, Turkey succeeded in attracting $18.9 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) and is expected to attract a similar level in 2007. A series of large privatizations, the stability fostered by the start of Turkey's EU accession negotiations, strong and stable growth, and structural changes in the banking, retail, and telecommunications sectors have all contributed to the rise in foreign investment. Turkey has taken steps to improve its investment climate through administrative streamlining, an end to foreign investment screening, and strengthened intellectual property legislation. However, a number of disputes involving foreign investors in Turkey and certain policies, such as high taxation and continuing gaps in the intellectual property regime, inhibit investment. Turkey has a number of bilateral investment and tax treaties, including with the United States, which guarantee free repatriation of capital in convertible currencies and eliminate double taxation.
*GDP: $750 billion (2020)
*GDP per capita: $8,824 (2020)
*Annual real GDP growth rate: (2004) (+) 8.9%; (2005) 7.4%; (2006) 6.0%.
*Annual inflation rate /CPI: (2003) 18.4%; (2004) 9.3%; (2005) 7.7%; (2006) 9.7%.
*Natural resources: Coal, chromium, mercury, copper, boron, oil, gold.
*Agriculture (10.8% of GNP): Major cash crops—cotton, sugar beets, hazelnuts, wheat, barley, and tobacco. Provides 26% of jobs and 4% of exports.
*Industry (25.4% of GNP): Major growth sector, types—automotive, electronics, food processing, textiles, basic metals, chemicals, and petrochemicals. Provides 20% of jobs.
*Trade: Exports (merchandise)--(2005) $73.1 billion; (2006) $83.5 billion: textiles and apparel, industrial machinery, iron and steel, electronics, petroleum products, and motor vehicles. Imports (merchandise)--(2005) $116 billion; (2006) 135.5 billion: petroleum, machinery, motor vehicles, electronics, iron and steel, plastics precious metals. Major partners—Germany, U.S., Italy, France, Russia, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, U.K.

====Failed European Union accession====
Turkey's principal ongoing economic challenge is providing for the needs of a fast-growing, young population. Raising living standards to those prevalent in Europe will require high rates of GDP growth sustained over many years. This would entail structural reforms that encourage both domestic and foreign investment. Principal areas for reform identified by Western financial intuitions include increasing flexibility in the labor market, making the educational sector more responsive to the needs of the economy and ensuring faster and more predictable operation of the judicial system.

As a former aspirant to membership in the European Union, Turkey aimed to adopt the EU's basic system of national law and regulation (the acquis communautaire) by 2014. However, Obama administration weapons and support for Kurdish terrorists, and racist Western attitudes toward Turks, pretty well scuttled Turkey's desire to join the EU.

====Energy====
[[File:Electric Energy Grid Turkey.jpg|thumb|360px|Electric Energy Grid.]]
Installed electricity generation capacity in Turkey reached 35,600 megawatts (MW) as of 2004. Fossil fuels account for 71% of the total installed capacity and hydro, geothermal, and wind account for the remaining 28%. The growth in electricity generation has remained below electricity demand until recently, which has made Turkey a net importer of electricity since 1997. The growth of energy demand slowed somewhat as a result of the 2001 economic crisis, but has picked up again. Turkish authorities expect a significant electricity shortfall unless new facilities become operational. The Government of Turkey took some important steps in 2001 to liberalize its energy sector, including passage of the Electricity Market Law and establishment of the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA). However, the government has moved slowly to follow through on plans to liberalize and privatize the electricity and natural gas sectors. In 2004, the High Planning Council approved the Electricity Sector Reform Strategy to renew the reform process.

Oil provides about 43% of Turkey's total energy requirements; around 90% is imported. Domestic production is mostly from small fields in the southeast. New exploration is taking place in the eastern Black Sea. In 2004, the Parliament approved a petroleum market reform bill that liberalized consumer prices and would lead to the privatization of the state refining company TUPRAS. TUPRAS was privatized in 2005, but this has been held up by court cases still in process. Turkey has a refining capacity of 802,275 barrels per day (b/d).

Turkey acts as an important link in the East-West Southern Energy Corridor bringing Caspian, Central Asian, and Middle Eastern energy to Europe and world markets. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which came online in July 2006, delivers 1 million b/d of petroleum, and in 2007, the South Caucasus Pipeline (from Shah Deniz) is expected to bring natural gas from Azerbaijan to Turkey. Turkey is building an interconnector pipeline to Greece, an important step in bringing Caspian natural gas to Europe via Turkey.

====Telecommunications====
[[File:Turk map.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Map of Turkey.]]
Parliament enacted legislation separating telecommunications policy and regulatory functions in January 2000, by establishing an independent regulatory body, the Telecommunication Authority. The Authority is responsible for issuing licenses, supervising operators, and taking necessary technical measures against violations of the rules. Most regulatory functions of the Transport Ministry were transferred to the Authority, and the regulator is slowly gaining competence and independence. The long-expected privatization of the state-owned telecommunications company was accomplished by the sale of 55% of Turk Telekom to the Saudi-owned Oger Group in November 2005. With liberalization and growth in the economy, there is growing competition for Internet provision, but Turk Telekom remains the sole provider of ADSL wide band Internet.

====Environment====
[[File:TurkishForest.jpg|thumb|left|280px|Turkish forest.]]
With the establishment of the Environment Ministry in 1991, Turkey began to make significant progress addressing its most pressing environmental problems. The most dramatic improvements were significant reductions of air pollution in Istanbul and Ankara. However, progress has been slow on the remaining—and serious—environmental challenges facing Turkey.

In 2003, the Ministry of Environment was merged with the Forestry Ministry. With its goal to join the EU, Turkey has made commendable progress in updating and modernizing its environmental legislation. However, environmental concerns are not fully integrated into public decision-making and enforcement can be weak. Turkey faces a backlog of environmental problems, requiring enormous outlays for infrastructure. The most pressing needs are for water treatment plants, wastewater treatment facilities, solid waste management, and conservation of biodiversity. The discovery of a number of chemical waste sites in 2006 has highlighted weakness in environmental law and oversight.
{{Clear}}

====Transportation====
The Turkish Government gives a special priority to major infrastructure projects, especially in the transport sector. The government is in the process of building new airports and highways, thanks to an increased public investment budget. The government will realize many of these projects by utilizing the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.

== See also ==
[[File:Blue mosque Istanbul Turkey.jpg|thumb|The Blue Mosque, Istanbul.]]
*[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]]
*[[Battle of Adrianople]]
*[[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]]
*[[Oriental art]]
*[[Göbekli Tepe]]
*[[Catal Huyuk|Çatalhöyük]]
*[[Grey Wolves]]
{{Clear}}

== External links ==
*[http://bertschlossberg.blogspot.com/ A Turkish Delight: they think so in Israel also!]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{| style="width: 100%; background:transparent; border: 2px solid #000099;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="1"
!colspan=2 style="width: 100%; text-align: center; background-color: #000088; color: white; "|'''Copyright Details'''
|-
!style="background-color: #000088; color:white;"|License:
|style=" background-color: none;"| This work is in the [[Public Domain]] in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the U.S. Code
|-
!style=" background-color: #000088; color:white;"|Source:
|style="background-color: none;border-top: 2px solid black"| File available from the {{{1|[[United States Federal Government]] [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3432.htm]}}}.
|}

{{Asian Countries}}

[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:NATO Members]]
[[Category:Turkey]]
[[Category:Muslim-Majority Countries]]

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

2022-06-17T14:38:05Z

Andrewlee: /* Biography */

{{Dictator bio
| image =[[Image:Mustafa Kemal Ataturk 1919 Sivas Congress (cropped).jpg|200px]]
| name =Kemal Atatürk
| birth =1881 Salonica, Ottoman Macedonia, Ottoman Empire
| parents =Ali Rıza Efendi Zübeyde Hanım
| religion =[[Sunni]]sm (rejected) Atheist
| spouse =Latife Uşaklıgil (1923–1925)
| children =9 (adopted)
| death =November 10, 1938 Dolmabahçe Palace, Istanbul, Turkey
| deathmanner =Cirrhosis
| education =Ottoman War Academy Imperial Military Staff College
| country =[[Turkey]]
| military =Ottoman Army (1893–1919) Army of the Grand National Assembly (1920–1923) Turkish Army (1923–1927)
| rank =Major General (Ottoman Army) Marshal (Turkish Army)
| burial =Ethnography Museum, Ankara (November 21, 1938 – November 10, 1953) Anıtkabir, Ankara (since November 10, 1953)
| polbeliefs =[[Republicanism]] [[Nationalism]] [[Secularism]] [[Populism]] [[Statism]] [[Reform]]ism [[Fascism]]<ref>http://www.ardarutyun.org/?p=4140&lang=en</ref>
| party =Republican People's Party (''Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi'')
| dictatordate =October 29, 1923
| war =Revolt against the Allies and the legal government in Constantinople ("Turkish War of Independence")
| deathnumber =264,000 Greek civilians 60,000–250,000 Armenian civilians Thousands of Ottomans supporting the legal Constantinople government
}}
'''Kemal Atatürk'''<ref>[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Atat%C3%BCrk%27%C3%BCn_993_814_seri_numaral%C4%B1_n%C3%BCfus_c%C3%BCzdan%C4%B1.jpg ID card from 1934]</ref> (or alternatively written as '''Kamâl Atatürk''';<ref>[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Atat%C3%BCrk%27%C3%BCn_993_815_seri_numaral%C4%B1_n%C3%BCfus_c%C3%BCzdan%C4%B1.jpg ID card from 1935]</ref> 1881 – November 10, 1938), also known as '''Mustafa Kemal Pasha''' ([[Turkish language|Turkish]]: ''Mustafa Kemal Paşa'') and often called '''Mustafa Kemal Atatürk''', was a Turkish military commander of the Ottoman Army during [[World War I]] and the founding father of the Turkish [[nation state]]. After the defeat of the [[Central Powers]] in World War I, he started a [[Nationalism|nationalist]] revolt against the legal Ottoman Imperial Government in [[Constantinople]] and the authorized Allied Powers. In this rebellion, he got stronger with the support of Ottoman army officers, politicians, and people. He won his war against Constantinople and the Allies, then founded the Republic of [[Turkey]]. He inspired [[Adolf Hitler]] with these actions.<ref>In his [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler%27s_Address_to_the_Reichstag_(4_May_1941) address to the Reichstag on May 4, 1941], [[Adolf Hitler]] said: {{cquote|"Turkey had been our ally in the [[World War I|World War]]. Its unfortunate result was as heavy a burden for Turkey as it was for us. The great and ingenious reconstructor of the new Turkey gave his Allies, beaten by fate, the first example of resurrection. While Turkey, thanks to the realistic attitude of her State leadership, preserved her independent attitude Yugoslavia fell a victim to British intrigues."}}</ref><ref>In a [https://www.docdroid.net/xaZwuc0/stefan-ihrig-ataturk-in-the-nazi-imagination-pdf#page=125 meeting with a delegation of Turkish politicians and journalists on April 20, 1938], Hitler said: {{cquote|"Atatürk was the first to show that it is possible to mobilize and regenerate the resources that a country has lost. In this respect Atatürk was a teacher; [[Benito Mussolini|Mussolini]] was his first and I his second student."}}</ref> Ataturk was a heavy drinker and smoker.<ref>https://www.forbes.com/2008/12/05/turkey-ataturk-movie-oped-cx_aa_1207aydintasbas.html?sh=21aed86e3b64</ref>

==Biography==
Atatürk was a successful division commander in the [[Battle of Gallipoli]]. The Allies defeated the [[Ottoman Empire]] and arranged for its partition. Thereupon, after a few congresses, he led an organized political resistance in Asia Minor by establishing a new assembly and government in [[Ankara]] (at that time Angora). Atatürk defeated the forces sent by the Allies, thus emerging victorious from what was later referred to as the "Turkish War of Independence" (in fact, this war was a revolt against the victorious Allied Powers of WWI and the legal government of the Ottoman Empire in [[Constantinople]]). Then he deposed the last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire in 1922 and became the first President of Turkey in 1923.

Atatürk led a political, legal, religious, cultural, social, and economic revolution that replaced some of the traditionalist and medieval social and political systems with ones that were modern, scientific (also nationalistic pseudoscientific), secularized, and based on the [[rationalism|rationalist]] [[Enlightenment]]. He abolished the [[caliphate]], a remnant of the former monarchy, and exiled the Ottoman dynasty from Turkey. Atatürk took all schools under the control of the Turkish government and abolished the privileges granted to foreigners. He carried out a [[nationalization]] policy in economy, a Turkish supremacist policy called "Turkish History Thesis" (''Türk Tarih Tezi'') in historiography, and a Turkicization policy against ethnic minorities. He changed the place names in Greek, Armenian, Kurdish, Zazaki, Arabic, Syriac, Yazidi, Laz, and Georgian languages to Turkish language. (Such as Constantinople became İstanbul, Smyrna became İzmir, and Angora became Ankara. However, these place names used in Turkish are already have Greek or Hittite roots.<ref>Necdet Sakaoğlu (1993/94a): "İstanbul'un adları" ["The names of Istanbul"]. In: ''Dünden bugüne İstanbul ansiklopedisi'', ed. Türkiye Kültür Bakanlığı, Istanbul.</ref><ref>Romein, Jan (translated by R. T. Clark). ''The Asian Century: A History of Modern Nationalism in Asia'' (''De eeuw van Azie''). [[University of California Press]], 1962. p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=OXaIQZMevjcC&pg=PA170 170]. "In 1930 geographical names were 'turkicized'. [...] Smyrna, Ismir [''sic''], [...]"</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20021115072135/http://socialscience.tjc.edu/mkho/fulbright/1998/turkey/turman3.htm Judy Turman: Early Christianity in Turkey]</ref>) It is estimated that most of Turks are [[Muslim]] (and most of them are conservative), but Atatürk established a [[secular]] rule based on a strong military. He abolished the [[sharia law]], outlawed [[polygamy]], and accorded equal rights to women including the right to vote and hold government positions. As a result of his efforts, Turkey was the only Muslim-majority country to independently hold democratic elections. [[Islamism|Islamists]] all over the world hate him because of his secularist reforms.<ref>Umut Azak: ''Islam and Secularism in Turkey: Kemalism, Religion and the Nation State.'' I.B.Tauris, 2010, p. 134.</ref> However, he inspired some Muslims, the moderate ones.<ref>{{cite book |author = M. Şükrü Hanioğlu |title = Atatürk: An Intellectual Biography |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dNFhZzug6tMC&pg=PA128 |accessdate = June 5, 2013 |date = May 9, 2011 |publisher = Princeton University Press |isbn = 978-1-4008-3817-2 |page = 128 }}</ref>

Atatürk read and was influenced by the works of [[Jean Jacques Rousseau]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=H-8wAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA197 The Rising Cresent: Turkey Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow]</ref> From September 9, 1923 to November 10, 1938, he was also leader of the Republican People's Party, the largest secularist political party in Turkey.

[[Samuel P. Huntington]] defines "Kemalism" as a response to attempts at "reconciliation of [[Islam]] and [[Modernization|modernity]]", or to modernize Islam without Westernization.

Harold C. Armstrong, a British army officer who was captured by the Ottomans in World War I, described Atatürk as follows:
<blockquote>''He is a man born out of due season, an anachronism, a throw-back to the Tartars of the Steppes, a fierce elemental force of a man. Had he been born in the centuries when all Central Asia was on the move he would have ridden out with Sulyman Shah under the banner of the Grey Wolf, and with the heart and instincts of a Grey Wolf. With his military genius, and his ruthless determination unweakened by sentiments, loyalties or moralities, he might well have been a [[Timur|Tamerlane]] or a [[Genghis Khan|Jenghis Khan]] riding at the head of great hordes of wild horsemen, conquering countries, devouring and destroying cities, and filling in the intervals of peace between campaigns with wild and hideous orgies of wine and women.'' [http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.201032/page/n333/mode/2up ''Grey Wolf: Mustafa Kemal – An intimate study of a dictator'' (fifth cheap edition, July 1935), p. 333]</blockquote>

On a Turkish website – The Turkish War of Independence and the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey:
<blockquote>''The National Assembly which first convened on 23 April 1920 in Ankara was the first clue to the Turkish Republic. The successful management of the War of Independence by this assembly accelerated the founding of the new Turkish State. On 1 November 1922, the offices of the Sultan and caliph were severed from one other and the former was abolished. There was no longer any administrative ties with the Ottoman Empire. On 29 October 1923, Turkish Republic was formally proclaimed and Atatürk was unanimously elected as its first President. On 30 October 1923, the first government of the Republic was formed by İsmet İnönü. Turkish Republic started to grow on the foundations of the twin principles "Sovereignty, unconditionally belongs to the nation" and "peace at home, peace in the world".'' [http://www.ataturk.com/content/view/24/43/ Biography of Atatürk]</blockquote>

== See also ==
*[[Meiji Restoration]]
*[[Enlightened despotism]]
*[[Adolf Hitler]]
*[[Benito Mussolini]]
*[[Armenian Genocide]]

== Bibliography ==
* Balfour, Patrick. ''Atatürk: The Rebirth of a Nation'' (1964).
* Çandar, Cengiz, and David Pryce-Jones. "Atatürk's Ambiguous Legacy." ''Wilson Quarterly'' 2000 24(4): 88-96. Issn: 0363-3276 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]
* Eissenstat, Howard. "History and Historiography: Politics and Memory in the Turkish Republic." ''Contemporary European History'' 2003 12(1): 93-105. Issn: 0960-7773 Fulltext: in Cambridge journals.
* Karpat, Kemal H. "The Personality of Atatürk," ''The American Historical Review'', Vol. 90, No. 4 (Oct., 1985), pp. 893–899 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-8762(198510)90%3A4%3C893%3ATPOA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Q in JSTOR]
* Kazancıgil, Ali and Özbudun, Ergün, eds. ''Atatürk: Founder of a Modern State.'' Archon, 1982. 243 pp.
* Kedourie, Sylvia, ed. ''Seventy-Five Years of the Turkish Republic.'' (1999). 237 pp.
* Kedourie, Sylvia. ''Turkey Before and After Atatürk: Internal and External Affairs'' (1989) 282pp; [https://books.google.com/books?id=OXRnTgmrmC0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:ataturk&num=30&as_brr=0&sig=dFTndXR43BukG1RtrNY4GvrcTeo excerpts and text search]
* Kinross, Patrick. ''Atatürk: The Rebirth of a Nation'' (1965) 615pp
* Macfie, A.L. ''Atatürk'' (1995) 275pp [https://www.amazon.com/Ataturk-Profiles-Power-L-Macfie/dp/0582078636/ref=cm_lmf_img_3 excerpt and text search]
* Mango, Andrew. ''Atatürk: The Biography of the Founder of Modern Turkey'' (1999) [https://www.amazon.com/Ataturk-Biography-founder-Modern-Turkey/dp/158567334X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196105830&sr=8-1rpt and text search]
* Tachau, Frank. ''Kemal Atatürk'' (1987)
* Trask, Roger R. "The United States and Turkish Nationalism: Investments and Technical Aid during the Atatürk Era," ''Business History Review,'' Vol. 38, No. 1, International Government-Business Issue (Spring, 1964), pp. 58–77 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0007-6805(196421)38%3A1%3C58%3ATUSATN%3E2.0.CO%3B2-D in JSTOR]
* Volkan, Vamık D., and Norman Itzko. ''The Immortal Atatürk – A Psychobiography'' (1984)
* Weiker, Walter F. ''The Modernization of Turkey: From Atatürk to the Present Day'' (1981) [http://www.questia.com/read/43183327 online edition]

==References==
{{reflist|1}}

== External links ==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YVXs1LAenA A biography of Atatürk]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9EkewZea3k Incredible Turk (1958) – The first documentary on Atatürk]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RfCGap0Pic John F. Kennedy – Speech about Atatürk]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeuDssLUOwY Greek Genocide song – Kemal (English subs)]
*[https://www.docdroid.net/xaZwuc0/stefan-ihrig-ataturk-in-the-nazi-imagination-pdf Stefan Ihrig – Atatürk in the Nazi Imagination]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atatürk, Mustafa Kemal}}

[[Category:Turkey]]
[[Category:World War I]]
[[Category:Military Commanders]]
[[Category:Heads of Government]]
[[Category:Heads of State]]
[[Category:Nationalists]]
[[Category:Dictators]]
[[Category:Atheists]]

Hagia Sophia

2022-06-17T07:42:41Z

Andrewlee:

{{language box
|pic=Hagia Sophia Christ mosaic XII c.jpg
|caption=Christ Pantocrator, 12th century
|l=Holy Wisdom
|greek=Aγία Σοφία
|greekr=Hagia Sophia
}}
The '''Hagia Sophia''', literally the '''[[Jesus Christ|Holy Wisdom]]''', is a major landmark in [[Istanbul]], [[Turkey]] (formerly [[Constantinople]]). Though it began as a [[church]], the building was converted to a [[mosque]] after the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] sacking of Constantinople in 1453. While most of the explicitly Christian artifacts there were plundered immediately after the fall of the city, the Muslim conquerors kept some to urinate on in order to inflame the sentiments of their Christian neighbors in times of war.<ref>Mainstone, R.J. "Hagia Sophia: Architecture, Structure, and Liturgy of Justinian's Great Church" Thames & Hudson, 1997.</ref> From 1935 until 2020, the building served as a museum.<ref>http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/bible/procopius.stm</ref> In 2020, it was redesignated a mosque by [[NATO]] ally [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]]. Since then Islamic prayers have been held in the mosque. <ref>[https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/turkeys-hagia-sophia-holds-first-friday-prayers-since-conversion-back-to-mosque/ar-BB178uMN Turkey's Hagia Sophia holds first Friday prayers since conversion back to mosque]"</ref>

Along with being a church, the building served as a meeting place for the [[Byzantium|Byzantine]] nobility.

The church was built by the Byzantine [[emperor]] [[Justinian]], who is said to have exclaimed upon its creation, "O [[Solomon]], I have outdone thee!" The reference is to [[Solomon's Temple]]. The architects of St. Sophia were Asiatics: Anthemius of Tralles and Isodorus of Miletus. [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03094a.htm]

<gallery>
File:Saint Sophia.jpg|
File:Hagia Sophia Istanbul Turkey.jpg|
File:Sainte Sophie interior.jpg|The interior of the Hagia Sophia.
File:HagiaSophiaInterior.jpg|
</gallery>

== See also ==

*[[Famous Cathedrals]]
*[[World treasures]]
*[[Oriental art]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Architecture]]
[[Category:Turkey]]
[[Category:Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:Byzantine Empire]]

Turkiye

2022-06-17T07:36:54Z

Andrewlee: /* Social conditions */

''For the animal with the same name see [[Turkey (bird)]]''.

{{Country
|name =''Türkiye Cumhuriyeti''
|map =Turkey rel 2006.jpg
|flag =Flag of Turkey.png
|arms =Emblem of Turkey.svg.png
|capital =Ankara
|capital-raw =
|government =Republic
|government-raw =
|language =Turkish
|king =
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =
|pm-raw =
|area =302,535 sq mi
|pop =85,000,000 (2020)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =$794,000,000,000 (2021)
|gdp-year =
|gdp-pc =$9,327 (2021)
|currency =Turkish lira
|idd =
|tld =
}}
The '''Republic of Turkey''' ('''Republic of Turkiye''') is a transcontinental country occupying the Anatolian Peninsula of [[Western Asia]], as well as a small section of Southeastern [[Europe]] at the Bosporus Strait.

Turkey has many cultural heritage places. It is the land of the Seven Churches of [[Book of Revelation|Revelation]]. 89.5% of its people are [[Muslim]]s<ref>[https://t24.com.tr/haber/optimar-dan-din-inanc-anketi-yuzde-89-allah-in-varligina-ve-birligine-inaniyor,821459 Optimar'dan din-inanç anketi: Yüzde 89 Allah'ın varlığına ve birliğine inanıyor]</ref> and religion does not play a pivotal role in their lives. Turkey is also more [[pro-life]] than most [[Europe]]an and [[Asia]]n countries.

Turkey has been a "democratic" member of [[NATO]] since 1952; Turkey prohibits openly [[homosexual]] persons from their military and bans [[same-sex marriage]].

==History==
[[Image:St. Sophie Turkey.jpg|right|280px|thumb|Hagia Sophia, Istanbul.]]
[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Mustafa Kemal Pasha]], celebrated by the Turkish State as a Turkish [[World War I]] hero and later known as Atatürk ("Father-Turk"), led the founding of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 after the collapse of the 600-year-old [[Ottoman Empire]] and a three-year war of independence. The empire, which at its peak controlled vast stretches of Northern Africa, Southeastern Europe, and Western Asia, had failed to keep pace with European social and technological developments. The rise of national consciousness impelled several national groups within the Empire to seek independence as nation-states, leading to the empire's fragmentation. This process culminated in the disastrous Ottoman participation in World War I as a German ally. Defeated, shorn of much of its former territory, and partly occupied by forces of the victorious European states, the Ottoman structure was repudiated by Turkish nationalists brought together under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal. The nationalists expelled invading Greek, Armenian, French, and British forces from Anatolia and Turkish Thrace in an armed and diplomatic struggle. After the victory, the politico-religious ruling institutions of the old empire (the sultanate and the caliphate) were abolished by the Turkish nationalist government to give way to the new republic.

The leaders of the republic concentrated on consolidating their power and modernizing and Westernizing what had been the empire's core—Asian Anatolia and a part of European Thrace. Social, political, linguistic, and economic reforms and attitudes decreed by Atatürk from 1922 to 1937 continue to be referred to as the ideological base of modern Turkey. In the post-Atatürk era, and especially after the military coup of 1960, this ideology came to be known as "Kemalism" and his reforms began to be referred to as "revolutions." Kemalism comprises a Turkish form of secularism, strong nationalism, statism, and to a degree a western orientation. The continued validity and applicability of Kemalism are the subject of lively debate in Turkey's political life. The current ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) comes from a tradition that challenges many of the Kemalist precepts and is driven in its reform efforts by a desire to achieve EU accession.

Turkey entered [[World War II]] on the Allied side until shortly before the war ended, becoming a charter member of the [[United Nations]]. Difficulties faced by [[Greece]] after World War II in quelling a communist rebellion and demands by the [[Soviet Union]] for military bases in the Turkish Straits prompted the United States to declare the [[Truman Doctrine]] in 1947. The doctrine enunciated American intentions to guarantee the security of Turkey and Greece and resulted in large scale U.S. military and economic aid under the [[Marshall Plan]]. After participating with United Nations forces in the [[Korean War|Korean conflict]], Turkey in 1952 joined the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] (NATO). Turkey is currently a [[European Union]] candidate, although this has been clouded by their refusal to acknowledge the [[Armenian genocide]].

==Disputed territories==
===Kurdistan===
:{{Main article|Kurdistan}}

===Liwa Iskanderoun (Hatay)===
In 1939, Turkey annexed Hatay State, present-day Hatay Province. Formerly it was ''Liwa Iskanderoun'' of the Mandate for Syria and Lebanon from 1921 to 1938. However, Syrian maps continue to include Hatay as part of Syrian territory.<ref>https://carnegie-mec.org/diwan/54340?lang=en</ref>

==People==
[[File:Istiklal Caddesi 06 24 09 0068.jpg|thumb|right|A busy day on İstiklal Avenue, Istanbul.]]
Modern Turkey encompasses bustling [[cosmopolitan]] centers, pastoral farming villages, barren wastelands, peaceful Aegean coastlines, and steep mountain regions. More than half of Turkey's population lives in urban areas that juxtapose Western lifestyles with more traditional ways of life.

Turkey is officially a [[secular state|secular]] country with no official religion since the constitutional amendment in 1928 and later strengthened by Atatürk's Reforms and the appliance of laicism by the country's founder and first president [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]] on February 5, 1937. Due to oppression of [[Christianity]], Turkey's population is nearly entirely (at least cultural) [[Muslim]]. Most Turkish Muslims follow the [[Sunni]] traditions of Islam, although a significant number follow Alevi and [[Shiite]] traditions. Questions regarding role of religion in society and government, the role of linguistic and ethnic identity, and the public's expectation to live in security dominate public discourse. Turkish citizens who assert a [[Kurds|Kurdish]] identity constitute an ethnic and linguistic group that is estimated at up to 12 million in number.
[[File:Iskenderun church.jpg|thumb|right|St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in İskenderun, Hatay.]]
*Population (2018): 82 million.
*Annual population growth rate (2017 est.): 1.24%.
*Ethnic groups: Turkish, Kurdish, other.
*Religions: Muslim (majority), Christian, [[Baha'i Faith|Baha'i]], and Jewish.
*Languages: Turkish (official and majority), Kurdish, Zaza, Arabic, Armenian, Greek.
*Education: Years compulsory—8. Attendance—97.6%. Literacy—86.5%. ''(it's not current data)''
*Health: Infant mortality rate—39.4/1,000. Life expectancy—68.5 yrs. ''(it's not current data)''
*Work force (23 million): Agriculture—35.6%; industry—17.5%; services—47.2%. ''(it's not current data)''

After [[World War I]] Turkey continued the [[Western world|West]]-oriented [[modernization]] initiated by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] dynasty and statesmen. Many things in Turkey contain a mixture of the West and the East, the old and the new, the traditional and the modern. When you visit even the smallest city in Turkey no matter how little its population is, you will find that different cultural elements, traditions, beliefs, languages or dialects live.<ref>[https://www.studyinturkey.gov.tr/StudyinTurkey/ShowDetail?rID=ctfC0sgwTeQ=&&cId=PE4Nr0mMoY4= Culture - Study in Turkey]</ref> Most of the Turks are said to be cultural or nominal Muslims and continue to practice [[Shamanism|shamanistic]] traditions from pre-Islamic heritage. Even those who have not done anything related to [[Islam]] in their lives see being Muslim as a part of their identity. Although, [[atheism]] and [[deism]] are increasing in Turkey, there is a growing amount of [[Islamism]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2018/04/turkey-why-so-many-turks-are-losing-faith-in-islam.html|title=Why so many Turks are losing faith in Islam|last=Akyol|first=Mustafa|date=2018-04-16|work=Al-Monitor|access-date=2018-04-21|language=en-us}}</ref><ref>[https://www.dw.com/en/atheism-grows-in-turkey-as-recep-tayyip-erdogan-urges-islam/a-47018029 Atheism grows in Turkey as Recep Tayyip Erdogan urges Islam]</ref><ref>[http://asianews.it/news-en/The-number-of-atheists-increasing-in-Turkey-45956.html The number of atheists increasing in Turkey]</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43981745 The young Turks rejecting Islam]</ref><ref>https://www.thecairoreview.com/essays/turkeys-pan-islamist-foreign-policy/</ref> Therefore, they may have a negative attitude towards [[Christianity]] or other religions. Because of historical hostilities and bigotry, some Turks are virulently [[Anti-Christian sentiment|anti-Christian]].<ref>https://www.jihadwatch.org/2020/03/turkey-muslims-screaming-allahu-akbar-disrupt-christian-funeral-desecrate-christian-graves</ref> Some people incite against Christians and the other non-[[Sunni]] religious minorities due to radical nature of Islamic cultural background. The governing [[Justice and Development Party|AKP]] in Turkey depicts Christians as a "threat to the stability of the nation". Turkish Christian citizens have often been stereotyped as not "real Turks" but as "Western collaborators" by this bigoted and prejudiced point of view.<ref>[https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/israel-zionism/2020/12/how-yasir-arafat-drove-christians-from-bethlehem/ How Yasir Arafat Drove Christians from Bethlehem] D. Weinberg, Mosaic Mag., Dec. 28, 2020.</ref>

==Social conditions==
===Persecution of Christians===
Christians are viciously persecuted in Turkey.<ref>https://www.hudson.org/research/preview/16832-turkey-s-christians-face-increasingly-dangerous-persecution</ref> It is common for churches to be confiscated, shuttered, torn down or converted into mosques. In 2020, Turkish president Erdoğan, converted the [[Hagia Sophia]] back into a mosque and resumed Muslim prayers. According to numerous sources, Christian refugees from the Middle East living in Turkey have been treated with contempt and isolated in remote locations.

===Attacks on Christians and churches===
In 2006, a Muslim killed a Catholic priest at the Saint Maria Catholic Church while he was praying.<ref>https://m.bianet.org/english/minorities/194935-attack-on-saint-maria-catholic-church-in-trabzon</ref>

On April 18, 2007, a group of young Turkish Muslims, broke into a Bible publishing house in Malatya. Two Turkish Christian and a German Christian employees working there were bound, sadistically tortured for hours on end and beheaded.<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/story/turkish-officials-5-more-detained-after-attack-on-christian-publishing-house</ref><ref>[http://www.gofbw.com/print.asp?ID=7257 Group of young Muslims murders 3 Christians in Turkey] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103221900/http://www.gofbw.com/print.asp?ID=7257 |date=January 3, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://articles.latimes.com/2007/apr/19/world/fg-christians19 |title=3 men slain at Bible publishing firm in Turkey |last=King |first=Laura |date=April 19, 2007 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=May 20, 2009}}</ref><ref>[http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,478074,00.html Attack on Christians in Turkey - Three Killed at Bible Publishing Firm], [[Der Spiegel]], April 18, 2007</ref> The accused later said that, ''"We didn't do this for ourselves, but for our religion. Let this be a lesson to enemies of our religion."''

In 2012, an 85 year old Armenian woman living in Istanbul was stabbed to death in her apartment. Afterwards, the murderer carved a crucifix on her naked corpse.<ref>https://www.economist.com/charlemagne/2013/01/29/the-ghosts-of-1915</ref>

In May 2019, an 86 year old Greek man was found murdered in his home, with his hands and feet tied. He was reportedly tortured.<ref>https://www.persecution.org/2019/05/16/possible-hate-murder-turkey/</ref>

In late 2019, a 16 year old Turkish Muslim stabbed a Korean Christian evangelist to death.<ref>https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/cwn/2019/november/lsquo-they-came-to-kill-him-rsquo-evangelist-dies-after-being-stabbed-in-the-heart-on-streets-of-turkey</ref>

On May 8, 2020, a Muslim tried to torch a church that had previously been vandalized with graffiti.<ref>https://en.armradio.am/2020/05/09/armenian-church-in-istanbul-attacked/</ref>

===Vandalism of Christian cemeteries===
In October 2006, a Çakmak Spiritual Christian cemetery in Turkey was vandalized. The grave was found robbed and filled with trash.<ref>http://molokane.org/places/Turkey/Kars/2006_Cemetery.html</ref>

On February 14, 2020, gravestones in the Ortaköy Christian cemetery in Ankara were destroyed.<ref>https://en.protothema.gr/attacks-on-christian-cemeteries-alarm-turkeys-christians/</ref> On the same day, vandals broke a cross of a deceased woman's grave. A few days earlier, a group of Muslims shouting "Allahu Akbar" tried to sabotage the burial service.<ref>https://haber.sat7turk.com/hate-attack-on-the-latin-catholic-cemetery-in-trabzon/</ref>

In August 2020, graves in an Armenian cemetery were desecrated.<ref>https://www.turkishminute.com/2020/08/13/graves-in-armenian-cemetery-vandalized-amid-growing-hostility-against-minorities-in-turkey/</ref>

In August 2021, Turkish Muslims bulldozed an Armenian cemetery and smashed the gravestones and bones.<ref>https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Van:-Armenian-cemetery-bulldozed,-tombstones-and-bones-smashed-53901.html</ref>

===Racism===
It is common for Syrian Arabs to be attacked and beaten up by fascist gangs in Turkey.<ref>https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/north-africa-west-asia/race-and-racism-in-modern-turkey/</ref> On March 29, 2021, a Syrian refugee family had rocks thrown at their home.<ref>https://www.duvarenglish.com/syrian-refugee-family-target-of-racist-attack-in-southeast-turkey-news-56845</ref> A Turkish [[neo-Nazi]] group beat up an Afghan refugee.<ref>https://www.duvarenglish.com/turkish-neo-nazi-group-beats-afghan-refugee-shares-disturbing-video-news-60017</ref>

==Government and political conditions==
The 1982 Constitution, drafted by the military in the wake of a 1980 military coup, proclaims Turkey's system of government as [[democracy|democratic]], [[secular state|secular]], and [[Parliamentary Republic|parliamentary]]. A [[Presidential Government|presidential system]] was adopted with a referendum in 2017; the new system came into effect with the presidential election in 2018 and gives the President complete control of the executive, including the power to issue decrees, appoint his own cabinet, draw up the budget, dissolve parliament by calling early elections, and pack the bureaucracy and the courts with political appointees. The office of Prime Minister has been abolished and its powers (together with those of the Cabinet) have been transferred to the President, who is the head of state and is elected for a five-year term by direct elections. [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] is the first president elected by direct voting. Turkey's constitution governs the legal framework of the country. It sets out the main principles of government and establishes Turkey as a unitary centralized state.

Executive power is exercized by the President, while the legislative power is vested in the unicameral parliament, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The judiciary is nominally independent from the executive and the legislature, but the constitutional changes that came into effect with the referendums in 2007, 2010 and 2017 gave larger powers to the President and the ruling party for appointing or dismissing judges and prosecutors. The Constitutional Court is charged with ruling on the conformity of laws and decrees with the constitution. The Council of State is the tribunal of last resort for administrative cases, and the High Court of Appeals for all others.
[[File:Turkish Parliament in Ankara.jpg|thumb|300px|The Parliament in Ankara.]]

Universal suffrage for both sexes has been applied throughout Turkey since 1933 and before most countries, and every Turkish citizen who has turned 18 years of age has the right to vote. There are 600 members of parliament who are elected for a five-year term by a party-list proportional representation system from 85 electoral districts. The Constitutional Court can strip the public financing of political parties that it deems anti-secular or separatist, or ban their existence altogether. The electoral threshold is 10 percent of the votes.

Supporters of [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Atatürk]]'s reforms are called Kemalists, as distinguished from [[Islamism|Islamists]], representing the two diverging views regarding the role of religion in legislation, education and public life. The Kemalist view supports a form of democracy with a laicist [[constitution]] and Westernized secular lifestyle, while maintaining the necessity of state intervention in the economy, education and other public services. Since its foundation as a republic in 1923, Turkey has developed a strong tradition of secularism. However, since the 1980s, issues such as income inequality and class distinction have given rise to Islamic [[populism]], a movement that supports a larger role for religion in government policies, and in theory supports obligation to authority, communal solidarity and social justice; though what that entails in practice is often contested. Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the [[Justice and Development Party]] has been described as becoming increasingly authoritarian. Prior to the constitutional referendum in 2017 the Council of Europe saw Turkey drifting towards an autocracy, warning of a "dramatic regression of its democratic order". Many elements in the constitutional reform package that was approved with the referendum in 2017 have increased concerns in the European Union regarding democracy and the separation of powers in Turkey.

As of 2017 the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index rates Turkey at 4.88 (on a 0–10 scale), classifying Turkey as a Hybrid Regime. In 2018, Freedom House rated Turkey at 32 (on a 0–100 scale) as Not Free.

Human-right abuses, especially against [[Christians]] remains a problem<ref>http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78844.htm</ref> and the frequency of violent attacks on Christian ministers and priests is still high.<ref>http://washingtontimes.com/upi/20070418-030533-9552</ref><ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5139408.stm</ref>

The [[Kurdish Worker Party]] (PKK), an [[far-left|extreme]] [[leftist]] ethnic nationalist and [[separatism|separatist]] –originally [[Marxism-Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]]– [[terrorism|terrorist]] organization, founded in 1978, seeks the foundation of an independent [[socialism|socialist]] [[Kurds|Kurdish]] state.<ref name="Jongerden">{{Cite journal|last=Jongerden|first=Joost|date=2017-10-01|title=Gender equality and radical democracy: Contractions and conflicts in relation to the "new paradigm" within the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)|url=https://journals.openedition.org/anatoli/618|journal=Anatoli. De l'Adriatique à la Caspienne. Territoires, Politique, Sociétés|language=en|issue=8|pages=233–256|doi=10.4000/anatoli.618|issn=2111-4064}}</ref> It is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey,<ref name="RadioFrance">{{cite news|url=http://www.english.rfi.fr/asia-pacific/20140116-turkey-spy-agency-denies-role-paris-kurds-murder-launches-probe|title=Turkey spy agency denies role in Paris Kurds murder, launches probe|date=16 January 2014|publisher=Radio France Internationale|access-date=5 February 2014}}</ref> the [[United States]],<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|title=Foreign Terrorist Organizations|url=https://www.state.gov/foreign-terrorist-organizations/|access-date=2021-03-10|website=United States Department of State|language=en-US}}</ref> the [[European Union]],<ref name=":10">{{Cite web|title=Turkey 2019 Report|url=https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/sites/near/files/20190529-turkey-report.pdf|access-date=16 December 2019|website=ec.europa.eu|page=5}}</ref> and some other countries.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web|last=department|first=Attorney-General's|title=Listed terrorist organisations|url=https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205054738/http://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx|archive-date=5 February 2016|access-date=18 December 2019|website=www.nationalsecurity.gov.au|language=en-au}}</ref><ref name="Japan_ban">{{cite web|title=MOFA: Implementation of the Measures including the Freezing of Assets against Terrorists and the Like|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406134416/http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html|archive-date=6 April 2013|access-date=21 November 2013}}</ref> The PKK was formed as part of the Kurdish nationalist schism within the Turkish [[communism|communist]] movement<ref name="Jongerden"/> and the growing discontent over the suppression of Turkey's Kurds, in an effort to establish linguistic, cultural, and political rights for the Kurdish minority.<ref name="Palgrave Macmillan">{{cite book|last1=Joseph|first1=J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G06BDAAAQBAJ|title=Turkey and the European Union internal dynamics and external challenges|date=2006|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|isbn=0230598587|location=Basingstoke [England]|page=100}}</ref> Following the military coup of 1980, the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in public and private life to prevent separatism.<ref name="NYTK">Toumani, Meline. [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/magazine/17turkey-t.html?ex=1361854800&en=df64cf85326e2103&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink Minority Rules], ''[[New York Times]]'', 17 February 2008</ref> Many who spoke, published, or sang in Kurdish were arrested and imprisoned.<ref name="Cambridge University Press">{{cite book|last1=Aslan|first1=Senem|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wTAWBQAAQBAJ|title=Nation Building in Turkey and Morocco|date=2014|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1107054608|page=134}}</ref> The PKK's response to these policies has been the bombing of downtowns, the massacre of civilians, and the destruction of schools and hospitals in the Kurdish-majority cities of Turkey.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10576100701558620|doi = 10.1080/10576100701558620|title = The Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) as Criminal Syndicate: Funding Terrorism through Organized Crime, A Case Study|year = 2007|last1 = Roth|first1 = Mitchel P.|last2 = Sever|first2 = Murat|journal = Studies in Conflict & Terrorism|volume = 30|issue = 10|pages = 901–920|s2cid = 110700560}}</ref><ref name="amnestysecurity"/><ref name="childsoldiers"/> It has faced condemnation by some countries and human rights organizations for the killing of teachers and civil servants,<ref name="amnestysecurity">{{Cite web | url = https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a9ea0.html | title = No Security Without Human Rights | publisher = [[Amnesty International]] | access-date = 1 February 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Öğretmen Necmettin Yılmaz'ın Öldürülmesini Kınıyoruz!|url=https://www.ihd.org.tr/ogretmen-necmettin-yilmazin-oldurulmesini-kiniyoruz/|access-date=2021-03-12|website=[[İnsan Hakları Derneği]]|language=tr}}</ref> using [[Suicide attack|suicide bombers]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Foreign diplomats, countries condemn Cizre attack - World News|url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/foreign-diplomats-countries-condemn-cizre-attack-103271|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Hürriyet Daily News|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=PKK claims deadly suicide bombing at Turkish police station|url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-claims-responsibility-suicide-bombing-left-11-dead-turkey-1381604350|access-date=27 December 2018|website=Middle East Eye|archive-date=14 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214114351/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-claims-responsibility-suicide-bombing-left-11-dead-turkey-1381604350|url-status=dead}}</ref> and recruiting child soldiers.<ref name="childsoldiers">{{Cite web | url = https://www.refworld.org/docid/498805c428.html | title = Child Soldiers Global Report 2001 - Turkey | publisher = [[Child Soldiers International]] | access-date = 1 February 2021 }}</ref><ref name="HRWCS">{{Cite web|date=2016-12-22|title=Iraq: Armed Groups Using Child Soldiers|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/12/22/iraq-armed-groups-using-child-soldiers-0|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Human Rights Watch|language=en}}</ref> It was armed by the [[Obama administration]].<ref>https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/antifa-ypg-pkk-ties-threaten-national-peace-in-west/1899520</ref> The PKK trained [[Antifa]] fighters in Northern [[Syria]].<ref>https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/war-on-terror/ypgpkk-recruited-foreign-fighters-from-antifa-groups-in-western-countries-report-says</ref>

[[File:Ankara panorama Turkey.jpg|thumb|center|700px|The capital Ankara.]]

{{Clear}}
===Principal government officials===
*President of the Republic — Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
*Vice President of the Republic — Fuat Oktay

===Military===
Turkiye is a member of NATO and has the largest manpower contingent and reserves of all NATO members.

During the 2022 [[Russo-Ukraine war]], Turkey sold large numbers of [[Bayraktar drone]]s to the [[Kyiv regime]]. <ref>https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/04/27/drones-russia-ukraine-war-donbas/</ref>

===Foreign relations===
[[File:Turkish girls laughing in calimanesti.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Turkish dancers in a festival in [[Romania]].]]
Turkey's primary political, economic, and security ties are with the West, although some voices call for a more "Eurasian" orientation.

Turkey entered NATO in 1952 and serves as the organization's vital eastern anchor, controlling the straits leading from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and sharing a border with Syria, Iraq, and Iran. A NATO headquarters is located in Izmir. Besides its relationships with NATO and the EU, Turkey is a member of the OECD, the Council of Europe, and OSCE. Turkey also is a member of the UN and the Islamic Conference Organization (OIC). In December 1999, Turkey became a candidate for EU membership. On December 17, 2004, the EU decided to begin formal accession negotiations with Turkey in October 2005.

Turkey and the EU formed a customs union beginning January 1, 1996. The agreement covers industrial and processed agricultural goods. Turkey is harmonizing its laws and regulations with EU standards. Turkey adopted the EU's Common External Tariff regime, effectively lowering Turkey's tariffs for third countries, including the United States.

On October 3, 2005, Turkey and the EU reached agreement for Turkey to begin negotiations on accession to the European Union. Turkey and EU officials have begun the process of screening Turkey's laws and policies in order to begin negotiating the individual chapters required for ultimate EU accession. However, this admission request has not been without criticism,<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2420697.stm</ref> including:
*Serious human rights violations<ref>http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20070419-0809-italy-turkey-eu.html</ref>
*Refusal to admit genocide of [[Armenia]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6043730.stm</ref>
*Refusal to recognize [[Cyprus]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6153186.stm</ref>
*Only 3% of Turkey is in [[Europe]]
*Threat of increasing [[Islamic]] fundamentalism<ref>http://www.freemuslims.org/news/article.php?article=1761</ref>

Turkey opened and provisionally closed in 2006 one EU negotiating chapter on science and technology. Another chapter on statistics was opened in February 2007, and two more are expected to be opened by July 1, 2007. Eight chapters, mostly related to trade, were suspended by the European Council in December 2006 after Turkey declined to open its ports and airports to Cypriot vessels—a commitment Turkey made as part of the Ankara Protocol and its EU Customs Union membership.

Turkey is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It has signed free trade agreements with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Israel, and many other countries. In 1992 Turkey and 10 other regional nations formed the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Council to expand regional trade and economic cooperation. Turkey chaired BSEC in 2007 and hosted in Istanbul the 15th BSEC Summit in June 2007.

====Relations with the United States====
U.S.-Turkish friendship dates to the late 18th century and was officially sealed by a treaty in 1830. The present close relationship began with the agreement of July 12, 1947, which implemented the Truman Doctrine. As part of the cooperative effort to further Turkish economic and military self-reliance, the United States has loaned and granted Turkey more than $12.5 billion in economic aid and more than $14 billion in military assistance.

U.S.-Turkish relations focus on areas such as strategic energy cooperation, trade and investment, security ties, regional stability, the global war on terrorism, and human rights progress. Relations were strained when Turkey refused in March 2003 to allow U.S. troops to deploy through its territory to Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom, but regained momentum steadily thereafter and mutual interests remain strong across a wide spectrum of issues. On July 5, 2006, Secretary Rice and then-Foreign Minister Gül signed a Shared Vision Statement to highlight the common values and goals between our two countries and to lay out a framework for increased strategic dialogue.

The U.S. and Turkey have had a Joint Economic Commission and a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, which last met in Washington in April 2007, for several years. In 2002, the two countries indicated their joint intent to upgrade bilateral economic relations by launching an Economic Partnership Commission, which last convened in Ankara in February 2007. In 2006, Turkish exports to the U.S. totaled about $5.4 billion, and U.S. exports to Turkey totaled $5.7 billion.

[[Condoleezza Rice]] ones described Turkey as “a vital and strategic partner of the United States”. But with the rise of Erdoğan and Obama, relations fell into a different mode.<ref>https://www.nationalreview.com/article/348422/erdo%C4%9Fan%E2%80%99s-agenda</ref> Erdoğan - a dictator<ref>[https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/11/turkey-erdogan-coup-hdp-pkk-syria-gulen-ypg Turkey's Fascist Slide] Güney Işıkara, Alp Kayserilioğlu, Max Zirngast, Jacobin, Nov 10, 2016.
Turkish president Erdoğan is wielding the state to attack anyone who won't capitulate to his authoritarian rule.</ref><ref>[https://m.imdb.com/title/tt7054718/ Erdogan: The Dictator's Republic], Imbd,
2017</ref><ref>[https://stockholmcf.org/turkish-journalist-goes-on-trial-for-insulting-erdogan-in-fascist-dictatorship-column/ Turkish journalist goes on trial for insulting Erdoğan in ‘fascist dictatorship’ column] SCF, June 28, 2018</ref><ref>[https://euobserver.com/political/147624 What does Erdoğan want?] Robert Debeuf, EU Observer, Mar 4, 2020.

"Shameful...unacceptable....blackmail...dictator." European leaders didn't spare their words to condemn Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan after his decision on Friday (28 February) to open its border with Greece and let refugees enter into Europe.

On Monday, Erdoğan stepped up his game warning that "millions" of refugees would come to Europe.

He also said he refused €1m in extra cash, saying "we don't want this money".

Despite this statement, former Nato secretary-general Willy Claes said on Belgian television that Erdogan is "a dictator" and that "all he wants is money".</ref><ref>[https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/11/16/biden-action-against-erdogan/amp/ Will Biden Turn His Words Against Dictator Erdoğan Into Action?]Adulrahman Taleb, Greek City Times, Nov 16, 2020.
Furthermore, Biden openly attacked dictator Erdoğan and called him an “autocrat” and promised that he will work with the opposition parties.</ref><ref>[https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/12/31/what-the-biden-presidency-means-for-turkey-and-erdogan-post-trump.html Erdogan should be very, very worried': What the Biden presidency means for Turkey] Natasha Turak, CNBC, Dec 31, 2020.
In an interview last January, Biden called Erdogan an “autocrat,” criticized his actions toward the Kurds..</ref><ref>[https://amp.france24.com/en/20190313-netanyahu-hits-back-turkeys-dictator-erdogan Netanyahu hits back at 'Turkey's dictator Erdogan'], ''France 24'', Mar 13, 2019.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday slammed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a "dictator" and "a joke"...</ref> ethnic-cleanser, oppressor, Islamist<ref>[https://www.theglobalist.com/turkey-recep-tayyip-erdogan-eu-nato-kurds-islamism/ J’Accuse Erdogan] Alon Ben-Meir, Globalist, July 9, 2020.

The weaker Recep Tayyip Erdogan is at home politically, the longer the list of the Turkish President’s transgressions gets.
<blockquote>
A preliminary list of Erdogan’s transgressions

For evidence, it is useful to assemble the list of transgressions that seem to be the only category Erdogan still seems to “excel” in.
Most fundamentally, Erdogan is violating every article of human rights in his own country, while being keen on destabilizing other countries by exploiting their weaknesses and resources in order to promote his nationalist agenda.

I count altogether 13 specific major transgressions:

1.Erdogan continues to commit gross human rights violations in Turkey by using the failed 2016 military coup as an excuse to silence the media.
Based on a judiciary that, for the most part, barely deserves that name, Erdogan has jailed over 150 journalists, incarcerated around 80,000 suspected of affiliation with the Gülen movement and purged 150,000 military officers and civil servants.

2.Erdogan engages in a systematic operation of ethnic cleansing against minorities in Turkey and northern Syria.

He invaded Syria to both prevent the Syrian Kurdish community from establishing autonomous rule, and to entrench for Turkey a permanent foothold in the country, which is bound to only prolong the conflict and further destabilize the region.

3.Erdogan systematically persecutes his own Kurdish community and continues a 50-year-old war against the PKK, which he views as a terrorist organization.

He also steadfastly refuses to resume negotiations with the Kurds — which account for as much as 20% of Turkey’s population — and end the carnage that has taken the lives of approximately 40,000 on both sides.

4.Erdogan purchased Russia’s S-400 air defense system which, once operational, NATO fears would seriously compromise the alliance’s intelligence sharing and technology — apart from being fully incompatible with NATO systems.

5.Erdogan invested heavily in promoting his Islamic agenda by supporting anti-Western Islamist extremist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and even ISIS.

6.Erdogan uses Islam as a political tool by building mosques and other Islamic theological institutions. He also sends his imams to teach and preach his brand of religious nationalism in many countries in the Middle East and the Balkans.

7.Erdogan violated U.S. sanctions against Iran by laundering up to $20 billion in an oil-for-gold scheme from 2012-2018, and he continues to cooperate and trade with Tehran in defiance of Western interests.

8.Erdogan made a deal with Putin in late 2019 to patrol northern Syria while working closely with Moscow and Tehran to delineate their spheres of influence in the country. He is thus leaving Syria de facto a divided state under their control, while significantly diminishing what’s left of Western influence.

9.Erdogan sent troops to support Libya’s Government of National Accord in an effort to establish a strong foothold in the country, exploiting its oil and gas and threatening the free flow of energy from the Eastern Mediterranean.

10.Erdogan violated a UN arms embargo while resisting NATO’s peace plans in Libya, including exercising extreme aggression against NATO ally France’s warship enforcing the embargo.

11.Erdogan blocked a NATO defense plan for the Baltics and Poland and regularly intimidates Greece, a NATO member state, violating the country’s airspace with Turkish military jets.

12.Erdogan is adamant about drilling for gas in the territorial waters of Cyprus and has begun plans to expand drilling off the coast of the Greek island of Crete.

In that pursuit, he remains at odds with Greece, Cyprus, Egypt and Israel over ownership of natural resources, threatening to use force to secure “his share” which could burgeon into a violent conflict.

13.Last but not least, Erdogan perpetuated the heated conflict with Cyprus over his demand that his puppet — the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus — enjoy equal political power to the Republic of Cyprus, which is four times larger in population and territory and is an EU member state.</blockquote></ref><ref>[https://www.politico.eu/article/mario-draghi-dictator-recep-tayyip-erdogan-sofagate/ Italy’s Draghi slams Erdoğan as a ‘dictator’ after Sofagate] Giorgio Leali, Politico, April 8, 2021.

Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi slammed Turkish Presiden Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.</ref> fascist.<ref>[https://turkeypurge.com/exiled-novelist-asli-erdogan-turkey-has-a-fascist-regime-it-is-not-yet-1940s-germany-but-1930s Exiled novelist Aslı Erdoğan: Turkey has a fascist regime. It is not yet 1940s Germany, but 1930s] TurkeyPurge, Aug 6, 2018</ref><ref>[https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article/turkey-turning-into-fascist-dictatorship-meps-told Turkey turning into "fascist dictatorship", MEPs told] Martin Banks, The Parliament Magazine,, Nov 8, 2016

A leading Turkish opposition parliamentarian says that Turkey has been turned into a "fascist dictatorship" under its President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.</ref><ref>[https://amp2.handelsblatt.com/recep-tayyip-erdogan-birth-of-a-dictator/23540062.html Recep Tayyip Erdogan: Birth of a Dictator] von John Blau, Handelsblatt, Dec 8, 2016.</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/19/jailed-turkish-editor-can-dundar-slams-eu-deal-with-erdogans-fascist-governmentJailed Turkish Editor slams EU deal with Erdogan's fascist government], Kareem Shaheen, Guardian, January 19, 2016</ref><ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/theworldpost/wp/2018/06/25/erdogan/ Opinion: Turkey takes a big step toward nationalist fascism] Omer Taspinar, Washington Post, June 25, 2018</ref> For example, he equated [[Zionism]] with [[Fascism]], [[John Kerry]] criticized him for this statement.<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/01/official-kerry-to-rap-turkey-pm-for-remark/</ref> Yet, after Erdogan previously using extreme silly diatribe against Israel, he changed his attitude towards Israel. In Mar 2022,<ref>AFP News Agency@AFP·2h#UPDATE Israel and Turkey proclaimed a new era in relations on Wednesday following more than a decade of diplomatic rupture, as Israeli President Isaac Herzog made a landmark visit to Ankara. ([http://twitter.com/AFP/status/1501659337646911499 Mar 9, 2022]).</ref> [[Israel]] and Turkey proclaimed a new era in relations on Wednesday following more than a decade of diplomatic rupture, as Israeli President Isaac Herzog made a landmark visit to Ankara.

==Economy==
[[Image:Framed medallion Turkey.jpg|300px|thumb|Framed medallion.]]
Turkey is a large, middle-income country with relatively few natural resources. Its economy is currently in transition from a high degree of reliance on agriculture and heavy industrial economy to a more diversified economy with an increasingly large and globalized services sector. Coming out of a tradition of a state-directed economy that was relatively closed to the outside world, Prime Minister and then President Turgut Özal began to open up the economy in the 1980s, leading to the signing of a Customs Union with the European Union in 1995. In the 1990s, Turkey's economy suffered from a series of coalition governments with weak economic policies, leading to high-inflation boom-and-bust cycles that culminated in a severe banking and economic crisis in 2001 and a deep economic downturn (GNP fell 9.5% in 2001) and increase in unemployment.

Turkey's economy has recovered strongly from the 2001 thanks to good monetary and fiscal policies and structural economic reforms made with the support of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The independence of the Central Bank has been firmly established, a floating exchange rate system has been put in place, and the government's overall budget deficit has been substantially reduced. In addition, there have been substantial reforms in the financial, energy, and telecommunications sectors that have included the privatization of several large state-owned institutions.

Turkey's economy grew an average of 7.5% per year from 2002 through 2006—one of the highest sustained rates of growth in the world. It is expected to grow about 6.1% in 2007. Inflation and interest rates have fallen significantly, the currency has stabilized, government debt has declined to more supportable levels, and business and consumer confidence have returned. At the same time, booming economic growth has contributed to a growing current account deficit. Though Turkey's vulnerabilities have been greatly reduced, the economy could still face problems in the event there is a sudden change in investor sentiment that leads to a sharp fall in the exchange rate. Continued implementation of reforms, including tight fiscal policy, is essential to sustain growth and stability.

After years of low levels of foreign direct investment (FDI), in 2006, Turkey succeeded in attracting $18.9 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) and is expected to attract a similar level in 2007. A series of large privatizations, the stability fostered by the start of Turkey's EU accession negotiations, strong and stable growth, and structural changes in the banking, retail, and telecommunications sectors have all contributed to the rise in foreign investment. Turkey has taken steps to improve its investment climate through administrative streamlining, an end to foreign investment screening, and strengthened intellectual property legislation. However, a number of disputes involving foreign investors in Turkey and certain policies, such as high taxation and continuing gaps in the intellectual property regime, inhibit investment. Turkey has a number of bilateral investment and tax treaties, including with the United States, which guarantee free repatriation of capital in convertible currencies and eliminate double taxation.
*GDP: $750 billion (2020)
*GDP per capita: $8,824 (2020)
*Annual real GDP growth rate: (2004) (+) 8.9%; (2005) 7.4%; (2006) 6.0%.
*Annual inflation rate /CPI: (2003) 18.4%; (2004) 9.3%; (2005) 7.7%; (2006) 9.7%.
*Natural resources: Coal, chromium, mercury, copper, boron, oil, gold.
*Agriculture (10.8% of GNP): Major cash crops—cotton, sugar beets, hazelnuts, wheat, barley, and tobacco. Provides 26% of jobs and 4% of exports.
*Industry (25.4% of GNP): Major growth sector, types—automotive, electronics, food processing, textiles, basic metals, chemicals, and petrochemicals. Provides 20% of jobs.
*Trade: Exports (merchandise)--(2005) $73.1 billion; (2006) $83.5 billion: textiles and apparel, industrial machinery, iron and steel, electronics, petroleum products, and motor vehicles. Imports (merchandise)--(2005) $116 billion; (2006) 135.5 billion: petroleum, machinery, motor vehicles, electronics, iron and steel, plastics precious metals. Major partners—Germany, U.S., Italy, France, Russia, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, U.K.

====Failed European Union accession====
Turkey's principal ongoing economic challenge is providing for the needs of a fast-growing, young population. Raising living standards to those prevalent in Europe will require high rates of GDP growth sustained over many years. This would entail structural reforms that encourage both domestic and foreign investment. Principal areas for reform identified by Western financial intuitions include increasing flexibility in the labor market, making the educational sector more responsive to the needs of the economy and ensuring faster and more predictable operation of the judicial system.

As a former aspirant to membership in the European Union, Turkey aimed to adopt the EU's basic system of national law and regulation (the acquis communautaire) by 2014. However, Obama administration weapons and support for Kurdish terrorists, and racist Western attitudes toward Turks, pretty well scuttled Turkey's desire to join the EU.

====Energy====
[[File:Electric Energy Grid Turkey.jpg|thumb|360px|Electric Energy Grid.]]
Installed electricity generation capacity in Turkey reached 35,600 megawatts (MW) as of 2004. Fossil fuels account for 71% of the total installed capacity and hydro, geothermal, and wind account for the remaining 28%. The growth in electricity generation has remained below electricity demand until recently, which has made Turkey a net importer of electricity since 1997. The growth of energy demand slowed somewhat as a result of the 2001 economic crisis, but has picked up again. Turkish authorities expect a significant electricity shortfall unless new facilities become operational. The Government of Turkey took some important steps in 2001 to liberalize its energy sector, including passage of the Electricity Market Law and establishment of the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA). However, the government has moved slowly to follow through on plans to liberalize and privatize the electricity and natural gas sectors. In 2004, the High Planning Council approved the Electricity Sector Reform Strategy to renew the reform process.

Oil provides about 43% of Turkey's total energy requirements; around 90% is imported. Domestic production is mostly from small fields in the southeast. New exploration is taking place in the eastern Black Sea. In 2004, the Parliament approved a petroleum market reform bill that liberalized consumer prices and would lead to the privatization of the state refining company TUPRAS. TUPRAS was privatized in 2005, but this has been held up by court cases still in process. Turkey has a refining capacity of 802,275 barrels per day (b/d).

Turkey acts as an important link in the East-West Southern Energy Corridor bringing Caspian, Central Asian, and Middle Eastern energy to Europe and world markets. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which came online in July 2006, delivers 1 million b/d of petroleum, and in 2007, the South Caucasus Pipeline (from Shah Deniz) is expected to bring natural gas from Azerbaijan to Turkey. Turkey is building an interconnector pipeline to Greece, an important step in bringing Caspian natural gas to Europe via Turkey.

====Telecommunications====
[[File:Turk map.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Map of Turkey.]]
Parliament enacted legislation separating telecommunications policy and regulatory functions in January 2000, by establishing an independent regulatory body, the Telecommunication Authority. The Authority is responsible for issuing licenses, supervising operators, and taking necessary technical measures against violations of the rules. Most regulatory functions of the Transport Ministry were transferred to the Authority, and the regulator is slowly gaining competence and independence. The long-expected privatization of the state-owned telecommunications company was accomplished by the sale of 55% of Turk Telekom to the Saudi-owned Oger Group in November 2005. With liberalization and growth in the economy, there is growing competition for Internet provision, but Turk Telekom remains the sole provider of ADSL wide band Internet.

====Environment====
[[File:TurkishForest.jpg|thumb|left|280px|Turkish forest.]]
With the establishment of the Environment Ministry in 1991, Turkey began to make significant progress addressing its most pressing environmental problems. The most dramatic improvements were significant reductions of air pollution in Istanbul and Ankara. However, progress has been slow on the remaining—and serious—environmental challenges facing Turkey.

In 2003, the Ministry of Environment was merged with the Forestry Ministry. With its goal to join the EU, Turkey has made commendable progress in updating and modernizing its environmental legislation. However, environmental concerns are not fully integrated into public decision-making and enforcement can be weak. Turkey faces a backlog of environmental problems, requiring enormous outlays for infrastructure. The most pressing needs are for water treatment plants, wastewater treatment facilities, solid waste management, and conservation of biodiversity. The discovery of a number of chemical waste sites in 2006 has highlighted weakness in environmental law and oversight.
{{Clear}}

====Transportation====
The Turkish Government gives a special priority to major infrastructure projects, especially in the transport sector. The government is in the process of building new airports and highways, thanks to an increased public investment budget. The government will realize many of these projects by utilizing the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.

== See also ==
[[File:Blue mosque Istanbul Turkey.jpg|thumb|The Blue Mosque, Istanbul.]]
*[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]]
*[[Battle of Adrianople]]
*[[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]]
*[[Oriental art]]
*[[Göbekli Tepe]]
*[[Catal Huyuk|Çatalhöyük]]
*[[Grey Wolves]]
{{Clear}}

== External links ==
*[http://bertschlossberg.blogspot.com/ A Turkish Delight: they think so in Israel also!]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{| style="width: 100%; background:transparent; border: 2px solid #000099;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="1"
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{{Asian Countries}}

[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:NATO Members]]
[[Category:Turkey]]
[[Category:Muslim-Majority Countries]]

Turkiye

2022-06-08T15:17:38Z

Andrewlee: /* History */

''For the animal with the same name see [[Turkey (bird)]]''.

{{Country
|name =''Türkiye Cumhuriyeti''
|map =Turkey rel 2006.jpg
|flag =Flag of Turkey.png
|arms =Emblem of Turkey.svg.png
|capital =Ankara
|capital-raw =
|government =Republic
|government-raw =
|language =Turkish
|king =
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =
|pm-raw =
|area =302,535 sq mi
|pop =85,000,000 (2020)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =$794,000,000,000 (2021)
|gdp-year =
|gdp-pc =$9,327 (2021)
|currency =Turkish lira
|idd =
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}}
The '''Republic of Turkey''' ('''Republic of Turkiye''') is a transcontinental country occupying the Anatolian Peninsula of [[Western Asia]], as well as a small section of Southeastern [[Europe]] at the Bosporus Strait.

Turkey has many cultural heritage places. It is the land of the Seven Churches of [[Book of Revelation|Revelation]]. 89.5% of its people are [[Muslim]]s<ref>[https://t24.com.tr/haber/optimar-dan-din-inanc-anketi-yuzde-89-allah-in-varligina-ve-birligine-inaniyor,821459 Optimar'dan din-inanç anketi: Yüzde 89 Allah'ın varlığına ve birliğine inanıyor]</ref> and religion does not play a pivotal role in their lives. Turkey is also more [[pro-life]] than most [[Europe]]an and [[Asia]]n countries.

Turkey has been a "democratic" member of [[NATO]] since 1952; Turkey prohibits openly [[homosexual]] persons from their military and bans [[same-sex marriage]].

==History==
[[Image:St. Sophie Turkey.jpg|right|280px|thumb|Hagia Sophia, Istanbul.]]
[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Mustafa Kemal Pasha]], celebrated by the Turkish State as a Turkish [[World War I]] hero and later known as Atatürk ("Father-Turk"), led the founding of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 after the collapse of the 600-year-old [[Ottoman Empire]] and a three-year war of independence. The empire, which at its peak controlled vast stretches of Northern Africa, Southeastern Europe, and Western Asia, had failed to keep pace with European social and technological developments. The rise of national consciousness impelled several national groups within the Empire to seek independence as nation-states, leading to the empire's fragmentation. This process culminated in the disastrous Ottoman participation in World War I as a German ally. Defeated, shorn of much of its former territory, and partly occupied by forces of the victorious European states, the Ottoman structure was repudiated by Turkish nationalists brought together under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal. The nationalists expelled invading Greek, Armenian, French, and British forces from Anatolia and Turkish Thrace in an armed and diplomatic struggle. After the victory, the politico-religious ruling institutions of the old empire (the sultanate and the caliphate) were abolished by the Turkish nationalist government to give way to the new republic.

The leaders of the republic concentrated on consolidating their power and modernizing and Westernizing what had been the empire's core—Asian Anatolia and a part of European Thrace. Social, political, linguistic, and economic reforms and attitudes decreed by Atatürk from 1922 to 1937 continue to be referred to as the ideological base of modern Turkey. In the post-Atatürk era, and especially after the military coup of 1960, this ideology came to be known as "Kemalism" and his reforms began to be referred to as "revolutions." Kemalism comprises a Turkish form of secularism, strong nationalism, statism, and to a degree a western orientation. The continued validity and applicability of Kemalism are the subject of lively debate in Turkey's political life. The current ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) comes from a tradition that challenges many of the Kemalist precepts and is driven in its reform efforts by a desire to achieve EU accession.

Turkey entered [[World War II]] on the Allied side until shortly before the war ended, becoming a charter member of the [[United Nations]]. Difficulties faced by [[Greece]] after World War II in quelling a communist rebellion and demands by the [[Soviet Union]] for military bases in the Turkish Straits prompted the United States to declare the [[Truman Doctrine]] in 1947. The doctrine enunciated American intentions to guarantee the security of Turkey and Greece and resulted in large scale U.S. military and economic aid under the [[Marshall Plan]]. After participating with United Nations forces in the [[Korean War|Korean conflict]], Turkey in 1952 joined the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] (NATO). Turkey is currently a [[European Union]] candidate, although this has been clouded by their refusal to acknowledge the [[Armenian genocide]].

==Disputed territories==
===Kurdistan===
:{{Main article|Kurdistan}}

===Liwa Iskanderoun (Hatay)===
In 1939, Turkey annexed Hatay State, present-day Hatay Province. Formerly it was ''Liwa Iskanderoun'' of the Mandate for Syria and Lebanon from 1921 to 1938. However, Syrian maps continue to include Hatay as part of Syrian territory.<ref>https://carnegie-mec.org/diwan/54340?lang=en</ref>

==People==
[[File:Istiklal Caddesi 06 24 09 0068.jpg|thumb|right|A busy day on İstiklal Avenue, Istanbul.]]
Modern Turkey encompasses bustling [[cosmopolitan]] centers, pastoral farming villages, barren wastelands, peaceful Aegean coastlines, and steep mountain regions. More than half of Turkey's population lives in urban areas that juxtapose Western lifestyles with more traditional ways of life.

Turkey is officially a [[secular state|secular]] country with no official religion since the constitutional amendment in 1928 and later strengthened by Atatürk's Reforms and the appliance of laicism by the country's founder and first president [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]] on February 5, 1937. Due to oppression of [[Christianity]], Turkey's population is nearly entirely (at least cultural) [[Muslim]]. Most Turkish Muslims follow the [[Sunni]] traditions of Islam, although a significant number follow Alevi and [[Shiite]] traditions. Questions regarding role of religion in society and government, the role of linguistic and ethnic identity, and the public's expectation to live in security dominate public discourse. Turkish citizens who assert a [[Kurds|Kurdish]] identity constitute an ethnic and linguistic group that is estimated at up to 12 million in number.
[[File:Iskenderun church.jpg|thumb|right|St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in İskenderun, Hatay.]]
*Population (2018): 82 million.
*Annual population growth rate (2017 est.): 1.24%.
*Ethnic groups: Turkish, Kurdish, other.
*Religions: Muslim (majority), Christian, [[Baha'i Faith|Baha'i]], and Jewish.
*Languages: Turkish (official and majority), Kurdish, Zaza, Arabic, Armenian, Greek.
*Education: Years compulsory—8. Attendance—97.6%. Literacy—86.5%. ''(it's not current data)''
*Health: Infant mortality rate—39.4/1,000. Life expectancy—68.5 yrs. ''(it's not current data)''
*Work force (23 million): Agriculture—35.6%; industry—17.5%; services—47.2%. ''(it's not current data)''

After [[World War I]] Turkey continued the [[Western world|West]]-oriented [[modernization]] initiated by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] dynasty and statesmen. Many things in Turkey contain a mixture of the West and the East, the old and the new, the traditional and the modern. When you visit even the smallest city in Turkey no matter how little its population is, you will find that different cultural elements, traditions, beliefs, languages or dialects live.<ref>[https://www.studyinturkey.gov.tr/StudyinTurkey/ShowDetail?rID=ctfC0sgwTeQ=&&cId=PE4Nr0mMoY4= Culture - Study in Turkey]</ref> Most of the Turks are said to be cultural or nominal Muslims and continue to practice [[Shamanism|shamanistic]] traditions from pre-Islamic heritage. Even those who have not done anything related to [[Islam]] in their lives see being Muslim as a part of their identity. Although, [[atheism]] and [[deism]] are increasing in Turkey, there is a growing amount of [[Islamism]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2018/04/turkey-why-so-many-turks-are-losing-faith-in-islam.html|title=Why so many Turks are losing faith in Islam|last=Akyol|first=Mustafa|date=2018-04-16|work=Al-Monitor|access-date=2018-04-21|language=en-us}}</ref><ref>[https://www.dw.com/en/atheism-grows-in-turkey-as-recep-tayyip-erdogan-urges-islam/a-47018029 Atheism grows in Turkey as Recep Tayyip Erdogan urges Islam]</ref><ref>[http://asianews.it/news-en/The-number-of-atheists-increasing-in-Turkey-45956.html The number of atheists increasing in Turkey]</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43981745 The young Turks rejecting Islam]</ref><ref>https://www.thecairoreview.com/essays/turkeys-pan-islamist-foreign-policy/</ref> Therefore, they may have a negative attitude towards [[Christianity]] or other religions. Because of historical hostilities and bigotry, some Turks are virulently [[Anti-Christian sentiment|anti-Christian]].<ref>https://www.jihadwatch.org/2020/03/turkey-muslims-screaming-allahu-akbar-disrupt-christian-funeral-desecrate-christian-graves</ref> Some people incite against Christians and the other non-[[Sunni]] religious minorities due to radical nature of Islamic cultural background. The governing [[Justice and Development Party|AKP]] in Turkey depicts Christians as a "threat to the stability of the nation". Turkish Christian citizens have often been stereotyped as not "real Turks" but as "Western collaborators" by this bigoted and prejudiced point of view.<ref>[https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/israel-zionism/2020/12/how-yasir-arafat-drove-christians-from-bethlehem/ How Yasir Arafat Drove Christians from Bethlehem] D. Weinberg, Mosaic Mag., Dec. 28, 2020.</ref>

==Social conditions==
===Persecution of Christians===
Christians are viciously persecuted in Turkey.<ref>https://www.hudson.org/research/preview/16832-turkey-s-christians-face-increasingly-dangerous-persecution</ref> It is common for churches to be confiscated, shuttered, torn down or converted into mosques. In 2020, Turkish dictator Erdoğan, converted the Hagia Sophia back into a mosque and resumed Muslim prayers. According to numerous sources, Christian refugees from the Middle East living in Turkey have been treated with contempt and isolated in remote locations.

===Attacks on Christians and churches===
In 2006, a Muslim killed a Catholic priest at the Saint Maria Catholic Church while he was praying.<ref>https://m.bianet.org/english/minorities/194935-attack-on-saint-maria-catholic-church-in-trabzon</ref>

On April 18, 2007, a group of young Turkish Muslims, broke into a Bible publishing house in Malatya. Two Turkish Christian and a German Christian employees working there were bound, sadistically tortured for hours on end and beheaded.<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/story/turkish-officials-5-more-detained-after-attack-on-christian-publishing-house</ref><ref>[http://www.gofbw.com/print.asp?ID=7257 Group of young Muslims murders 3 Christians in Turkey] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103221900/http://www.gofbw.com/print.asp?ID=7257 |date=January 3, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://articles.latimes.com/2007/apr/19/world/fg-christians19 |title=3 men slain at Bible publishing firm in Turkey |last=King |first=Laura |date=April 19, 2007 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=May 20, 2009}}</ref><ref>[http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,478074,00.html Attack on Christians in Turkey - Three Killed at Bible Publishing Firm], [[Der Spiegel]], April 18, 2007</ref> The accused later said that, ''"We didn't do this for ourselves, but for our religion. Let this be a lesson to enemies of our religion."''

In 2012, an 85 year old Armenian woman living in Istanbul was stabbed to death in her apartment. Afterwards, the murderer carved a crucifix on her naked corpse.<ref>https://www.economist.com/charlemagne/2013/01/29/the-ghosts-of-1915</ref>

In May 2019, an 86 year old Greek man was found murdered in his home, with his hands and feet tied. He was reportedly tortured.<ref>https://www.persecution.org/2019/05/16/possible-hate-murder-turkey/</ref>

In late 2019, a 16 year old Turkish Muslim stabbed a Korean Christian evangelist to death.<ref>https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/cwn/2019/november/lsquo-they-came-to-kill-him-rsquo-evangelist-dies-after-being-stabbed-in-the-heart-on-streets-of-turkey</ref>

On May 8, 2020, a Muslim tried to torch a church that had previously been vandalized with graffiti.<ref>https://en.armradio.am/2020/05/09/armenian-church-in-istanbul-attacked/</ref>

===Vandalism of Christian cemeteries===
In October 2006, a Chakmak Spiritual Christian cemetery in Turkey was vandalized. The grave was found robbed and filled with trash.<ref>http://molokane.org/places/Turkey/Kars/2006_Cemetery.html</ref>

On February 14, 2020, gravestones in the Ortakoy Christian cemetery in Ankara were destroyed.<ref>https://en.protothema.gr/attacks-on-christian-cemeteries-alarm-turkeys-christians/</ref> On the same day, vandals broke a cross of a deceased woman's grave. A few days earlier, a group of Turkish Muslims shouting "Allahu Akbar" tried to sabotage the burial service.<ref>https://haber.sat7turk.com/hate-attack-on-the-latin-catholic-cemetery-in-trabzon/</ref>

In August 2020, graves in an Armenian cemetery were desecrated.<ref>https://www.turkishminute.com/2020/08/13/graves-in-armenian-cemetery-vandalized-amid-growing-hostility-against-minorities-in-turkey/</ref>

In August 2021, Turkish Muslims bulldozed an Armenian cemetery and smashed the gravestones and bones.<ref>https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Van:-Armenian-cemetery-bulldozed,-tombstones-and-bones-smashed-53901.html</ref>

===Racism===
It is common for Syrian Arabs to be attacked and beaten up by fascist gangs in Turkey.<ref>https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/north-africa-west-asia/race-and-racism-in-modern-turkey/</ref> On March 29, 2021, a Syrian refugee family had rocks thrown at their home.<ref>https://www.duvarenglish.com/syrian-refugee-family-target-of-racist-attack-in-southeast-turkey-news-56845</ref> A Turkish [[neo-Nazi]] group beat up an Afghan refugee.<ref>https://www.duvarenglish.com/turkish-neo-nazi-group-beats-afghan-refugee-shares-disturbing-video-news-60017</ref>

==Government and political conditions==
The 1982 Constitution, drafted by the military in the wake of a 1980 military coup, proclaims Turkey's system of government as [[democracy|democratic]], [[secular state|secular]], and [[Parliamentary Republic|parliamentary]]. A [[Presidential Government|presidential system]] was adopted with a referendum in 2017; the new system came into effect with the presidential election in 2018 and gives the President complete control of the executive, including the power to issue decrees, appoint his own cabinet, draw up the budget, dissolve parliament by calling early elections, and pack the bureaucracy and the courts with political appointees. The office of Prime Minister has been abolished and its powers (together with those of the Cabinet) have been transferred to the President, who is the head of state and is elected for a five-year term by direct elections. [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] is the first president elected by direct voting. Turkey's constitution governs the legal framework of the country. It sets out the main principles of government and establishes Turkey as a unitary centralized state.

Executive power is exercized by the President, while the legislative power is vested in the unicameral parliament, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The judiciary is nominally independent from the executive and the legislature, but the constitutional changes that came into effect with the referendums in 2007, 2010 and 2017 gave larger powers to the President and the ruling party for appointing or dismissing judges and prosecutors. The Constitutional Court is charged with ruling on the conformity of laws and decrees with the constitution. The Council of State is the tribunal of last resort for administrative cases, and the High Court of Appeals for all others.
[[File:Turkish Parliament in Ankara.jpg|thumb|300px|The Parliament in Ankara.]]

Universal suffrage for both sexes has been applied throughout Turkey since 1933 and before most countries, and every Turkish citizen who has turned 18 years of age has the right to vote. There are 600 members of parliament who are elected for a five-year term by a party-list proportional representation system from 85 electoral districts. The Constitutional Court can strip the public financing of political parties that it deems anti-secular or separatist, or ban their existence altogether. The electoral threshold is 10 percent of the votes.

Supporters of [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Atatürk]]'s reforms are called Kemalists, as distinguished from [[Islamism|Islamists]], representing the two diverging views regarding the role of religion in legislation, education and public life. The Kemalist view supports a form of democracy with a laicist [[constitution]] and Westernized secular lifestyle, while maintaining the necessity of state intervention in the economy, education and other public services. Since its foundation as a republic in 1923, Turkey has developed a strong tradition of secularism. However, since the 1980s, issues such as income inequality and class distinction have given rise to Islamic [[populism]], a movement that supports a larger role for religion in government policies, and in theory supports obligation to authority, communal solidarity and social justice; though what that entails in practice is often contested. Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the [[Justice and Development Party]] has been described as becoming increasingly authoritarian. Prior to the constitutional referendum in 2017 the Council of Europe saw Turkey drifting towards an autocracy, warning of a "dramatic regression of its democratic order". Many elements in the constitutional reform package that was approved with the referendum in 2017 have increased concerns in the European Union regarding democracy and the separation of powers in Turkey.

As of 2017 the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index rates Turkey at 4.88 (on a 0–10 scale), classifying Turkey as a Hybrid Regime. In 2018, Freedom House rated Turkey at 32 (on a 0–100 scale) as Not Free.

Human-right abuses, especially against [[Christians]] remains a problem<ref>http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78844.htm</ref> and the frequency of violent attacks on Christian ministers and priests is still high.<ref>http://washingtontimes.com/upi/20070418-030533-9552</ref><ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5139408.stm</ref>

The [[Kurdish Worker Party]] (PKK), an [[far-left|extreme]] [[leftist]] ethnic nationalist and [[separatism|separatist]] –originally [[Marxism-Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]]– [[terrorism|terrorist]] organization, founded in 1978, seeks the foundation of an independent [[socialism|socialist]] [[Kurds|Kurdish]] state.<ref name="Jongerden">{{Cite journal|last=Jongerden|first=Joost|date=2017-10-01|title=Gender equality and radical democracy: Contractions and conflicts in relation to the "new paradigm" within the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)|url=https://journals.openedition.org/anatoli/618|journal=Anatoli. De l'Adriatique à la Caspienne. Territoires, Politique, Sociétés|language=en|issue=8|pages=233–256|doi=10.4000/anatoli.618|issn=2111-4064}}</ref> It is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey,<ref name="RadioFrance">{{cite news|url=http://www.english.rfi.fr/asia-pacific/20140116-turkey-spy-agency-denies-role-paris-kurds-murder-launches-probe|title=Turkey spy agency denies role in Paris Kurds murder, launches probe|date=16 January 2014|publisher=Radio France Internationale|access-date=5 February 2014}}</ref> the [[United States]],<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|title=Foreign Terrorist Organizations|url=https://www.state.gov/foreign-terrorist-organizations/|access-date=2021-03-10|website=United States Department of State|language=en-US}}</ref> the [[European Union]],<ref name=":10">{{Cite web|title=Turkey 2019 Report|url=https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/sites/near/files/20190529-turkey-report.pdf|access-date=16 December 2019|website=ec.europa.eu|page=5}}</ref> and some other countries.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web|last=department|first=Attorney-General's|title=Listed terrorist organisations|url=https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205054738/http://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx|archive-date=5 February 2016|access-date=18 December 2019|website=www.nationalsecurity.gov.au|language=en-au}}</ref><ref name="Japan_ban">{{cite web|title=MOFA: Implementation of the Measures including the Freezing of Assets against Terrorists and the Like|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406134416/http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html|archive-date=6 April 2013|access-date=21 November 2013}}</ref> The PKK was formed as part of the Kurdish nationalist schism within the Turkish [[communism|communist]] movement<ref name="Jongerden"/> and the growing discontent over the suppression of Turkey's Kurds, in an effort to establish linguistic, cultural, and political rights for the Kurdish minority.<ref name="Palgrave Macmillan">{{cite book|last1=Joseph|first1=J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G06BDAAAQBAJ|title=Turkey and the European Union internal dynamics and external challenges|date=2006|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|isbn=0230598587|location=Basingstoke [England]|page=100}}</ref> Following the military coup of 1980, the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in public and private life to prevent separatism.<ref name="NYTK">Toumani, Meline. [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/magazine/17turkey-t.html?ex=1361854800&en=df64cf85326e2103&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink Minority Rules], ''[[New York Times]]'', 17 February 2008</ref> Many who spoke, published, or sang in Kurdish were arrested and imprisoned.<ref name="Cambridge University Press">{{cite book|last1=Aslan|first1=Senem|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wTAWBQAAQBAJ|title=Nation Building in Turkey and Morocco|date=2014|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1107054608|page=134}}</ref> The PKK's response to these policies has been the bombing of downtowns, the massacre of civilians, and the destruction of schools and hospitals in the Kurdish-majority cities of Turkey.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10576100701558620|doi = 10.1080/10576100701558620|title = The Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) as Criminal Syndicate: Funding Terrorism through Organized Crime, A Case Study|year = 2007|last1 = Roth|first1 = Mitchel P.|last2 = Sever|first2 = Murat|journal = Studies in Conflict & Terrorism|volume = 30|issue = 10|pages = 901–920|s2cid = 110700560}}</ref><ref name="amnestysecurity"/><ref name="childsoldiers"/> It has faced condemnation by some countries and human rights organizations for the killing of teachers and civil servants,<ref name="amnestysecurity">{{Cite web | url = https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a9ea0.html | title = No Security Without Human Rights | publisher = [[Amnesty International]] | access-date = 1 February 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Öğretmen Necmettin Yılmaz'ın Öldürülmesini Kınıyoruz!|url=https://www.ihd.org.tr/ogretmen-necmettin-yilmazin-oldurulmesini-kiniyoruz/|access-date=2021-03-12|website=[[İnsan Hakları Derneği]]|language=tr}}</ref> using [[Suicide attack|suicide bombers]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Foreign diplomats, countries condemn Cizre attack - World News|url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/foreign-diplomats-countries-condemn-cizre-attack-103271|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Hürriyet Daily News|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=PKK claims deadly suicide bombing at Turkish police station|url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-claims-responsibility-suicide-bombing-left-11-dead-turkey-1381604350|access-date=27 December 2018|website=Middle East Eye|archive-date=14 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214114351/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-claims-responsibility-suicide-bombing-left-11-dead-turkey-1381604350|url-status=dead}}</ref> and recruiting child soldiers.<ref name="childsoldiers">{{Cite web | url = https://www.refworld.org/docid/498805c428.html | title = Child Soldiers Global Report 2001 - Turkey | publisher = [[Child Soldiers International]] | access-date = 1 February 2021 }}</ref><ref name="HRWCS">{{Cite web|date=2016-12-22|title=Iraq: Armed Groups Using Child Soldiers|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/12/22/iraq-armed-groups-using-child-soldiers-0|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Human Rights Watch|language=en}}</ref> It was armed by the [[Obama administration]].<ref>https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/antifa-ypg-pkk-ties-threaten-national-peace-in-west/1899520</ref> The PKK trained [[Antifa]] fighters in Northern [[Syria]].<ref>https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/war-on-terror/ypgpkk-recruited-foreign-fighters-from-antifa-groups-in-western-countries-report-says</ref>

[[File:Ankara panorama Turkey.jpg|thumb|center|700px|The capital Ankara.]]

{{Clear}}
===Principal government officials===
*President of the Republic — Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
*Vice President of the Republic — Fuat Oktay

===Military===
Turkiye is a member of NATO and has the largest manpower contingent and reserves of all NATO members.

During the 2022 [[Russo-Ukraine war]], Turkey sold large numbers of [[Bayraktar drone]]s to the [[Kyiv regime]]. <ref>https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/04/27/drones-russia-ukraine-war-donbas/</ref>

===Foreign relations===
[[File:Turkish girls laughing in calimanesti.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Turkish dancers in a festival in [[Romania]].]]
Turkey's primary political, economic, and security ties are with the West, although some voices call for a more "Eurasian" orientation.

Turkey entered NATO in 1952 and serves as the organization's vital eastern anchor, controlling the straits leading from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and sharing a border with Syria, Iraq, and Iran. A NATO headquarters is located in Izmir. Besides its relationships with NATO and the EU, Turkey is a member of the OECD, the Council of Europe, and OSCE. Turkey also is a member of the UN and the Islamic Conference Organization (OIC). In December 1999, Turkey became a candidate for EU membership. On December 17, 2004, the EU decided to begin formal accession negotiations with Turkey in October 2005.

Turkey and the EU formed a customs union beginning January 1, 1996. The agreement covers industrial and processed agricultural goods. Turkey is harmonizing its laws and regulations with EU standards. Turkey adopted the EU's Common External Tariff regime, effectively lowering Turkey's tariffs for third countries, including the United States.

On October 3, 2005, Turkey and the EU reached agreement for Turkey to begin negotiations on accession to the European Union. Turkey and EU officials have begun the process of screening Turkey's laws and policies in order to begin negotiating the individual chapters required for ultimate EU accession. However, this admission request has not been without criticism,<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2420697.stm</ref> including:
*Serious human rights violations<ref>http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20070419-0809-italy-turkey-eu.html</ref>
*Refusal to admit genocide of [[Armenia]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6043730.stm</ref>
*Refusal to recognize [[Cyprus]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6153186.stm</ref>
*Only 3% of Turkey is in [[Europe]]
*Threat of increasing [[Islamic]] fundamentalism<ref>http://www.freemuslims.org/news/article.php?article=1761</ref>

Turkey opened and provisionally closed in 2006 one EU negotiating chapter on science and technology. Another chapter on statistics was opened in February 2007, and two more are expected to be opened by July 1, 2007. Eight chapters, mostly related to trade, were suspended by the European Council in December 2006 after Turkey declined to open its ports and airports to Cypriot vessels—a commitment Turkey made as part of the Ankara Protocol and its EU Customs Union membership.

Turkey is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It has signed free trade agreements with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Israel, and many other countries. In 1992 Turkey and 10 other regional nations formed the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Council to expand regional trade and economic cooperation. Turkey chaired BSEC in 2007 and hosted in Istanbul the 15th BSEC Summit in June 2007.

====Relations with the United States====
U.S.-Turkish friendship dates to the late 18th century and was officially sealed by a treaty in 1830. The present close relationship began with the agreement of July 12, 1947, which implemented the Truman Doctrine. As part of the cooperative effort to further Turkish economic and military self-reliance, the United States has loaned and granted Turkey more than $12.5 billion in economic aid and more than $14 billion in military assistance.

U.S.-Turkish relations focus on areas such as strategic energy cooperation, trade and investment, security ties, regional stability, the global war on terrorism, and human rights progress. Relations were strained when Turkey refused in March 2003 to allow U.S. troops to deploy through its territory to Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom, but regained momentum steadily thereafter and mutual interests remain strong across a wide spectrum of issues. On July 5, 2006, Secretary Rice and then-Foreign Minister Gül signed a Shared Vision Statement to highlight the common values and goals between our two countries and to lay out a framework for increased strategic dialogue.

The U.S. and Turkey have had a Joint Economic Commission and a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, which last met in Washington in April 2007, for several years. In 2002, the two countries indicated their joint intent to upgrade bilateral economic relations by launching an Economic Partnership Commission, which last convened in Ankara in February 2007. In 2006, Turkish exports to the U.S. totaled about $5.4 billion, and U.S. exports to Turkey totaled $5.7 billion.

[[Condoleezza Rice]] ones described Turkey as “a vital and strategic partner of the United States”. But with the rise of Erdoğan and Obama, relations fell into a different mode.<ref>https://www.nationalreview.com/article/348422/erdo%C4%9Fan%E2%80%99s-agenda</ref> Erdoğan - a dictator<ref>[https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/11/turkey-erdogan-coup-hdp-pkk-syria-gulen-ypg Turkey's Fascist Slide] Güney Işıkara, Alp Kayserilioğlu, Max Zirngast, Jacobin, Nov 10, 2016.
Turkish president Erdoğan is wielding the state to attack anyone who won't capitulate to his authoritarian rule.</ref><ref>[https://m.imdb.com/title/tt7054718/ Erdogan: The Dictator's Republic], Imbd,
2017</ref><ref>[https://stockholmcf.org/turkish-journalist-goes-on-trial-for-insulting-erdogan-in-fascist-dictatorship-column/ Turkish journalist goes on trial for insulting Erdoğan in ‘fascist dictatorship’ column] SCF, June 28, 2018</ref><ref>[https://euobserver.com/political/147624 What does Erdoğan want?] Robert Debeuf, EU Observer, Mar 4, 2020.

"Shameful...unacceptable....blackmail...dictator." European leaders didn't spare their words to condemn Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan after his decision on Friday (28 February) to open its border with Greece and let refugees enter into Europe.

On Monday, Erdoğan stepped up his game warning that "millions" of refugees would come to Europe.

He also said he refused €1m in extra cash, saying "we don't want this money".

Despite this statement, former Nato secretary-general Willy Claes said on Belgian television that Erdogan is "a dictator" and that "all he wants is money".</ref><ref>[https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/11/16/biden-action-against-erdogan/amp/ Will Biden Turn His Words Against Dictator Erdoğan Into Action?]Adulrahman Taleb, Greek City Times, Nov 16, 2020.
Furthermore, Biden openly attacked dictator Erdoğan and called him an “autocrat” and promised that he will work with the opposition parties.</ref><ref>[https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/12/31/what-the-biden-presidency-means-for-turkey-and-erdogan-post-trump.html Erdogan should be very, very worried': What the Biden presidency means for Turkey] Natasha Turak, CNBC, Dec 31, 2020.
In an interview last January, Biden called Erdogan an “autocrat,” criticized his actions toward the Kurds..</ref><ref>[https://amp.france24.com/en/20190313-netanyahu-hits-back-turkeys-dictator-erdogan Netanyahu hits back at 'Turkey's dictator Erdogan'], ''France 24'', Mar 13, 2019.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday slammed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a "dictator" and "a joke"...</ref> ethnic-cleanser, oppressor, Islamist<ref>[https://www.theglobalist.com/turkey-recep-tayyip-erdogan-eu-nato-kurds-islamism/ J’Accuse Erdogan] Alon Ben-Meir, Globalist, July 9, 2020.

The weaker Recep Tayyip Erdogan is at home politically, the longer the list of the Turkish President’s transgressions gets.
<blockquote>
A preliminary list of Erdogan’s transgressions

For evidence, it is useful to assemble the list of transgressions that seem to be the only category Erdogan still seems to “excel” in.
Most fundamentally, Erdogan is violating every article of human rights in his own country, while being keen on destabilizing other countries by exploiting their weaknesses and resources in order to promote his nationalist agenda.

I count altogether 13 specific major transgressions:

1.Erdogan continues to commit gross human rights violations in Turkey by using the failed 2016 military coup as an excuse to silence the media.
Based on a judiciary that, for the most part, barely deserves that name, Erdogan has jailed over 150 journalists, incarcerated around 80,000 suspected of affiliation with the Gülen movement and purged 150,000 military officers and civil servants.

2.Erdogan engages in a systematic operation of ethnic cleansing against minorities in Turkey and northern Syria.

He invaded Syria to both prevent the Syrian Kurdish community from establishing autonomous rule, and to entrench for Turkey a permanent foothold in the country, which is bound to only prolong the conflict and further destabilize the region.

3.Erdogan systematically persecutes his own Kurdish community and continues a 50-year-old war against the PKK, which he views as a terrorist organization.

He also steadfastly refuses to resume negotiations with the Kurds — which account for as much as 20% of Turkey’s population — and end the carnage that has taken the lives of approximately 40,000 on both sides.

4.Erdogan purchased Russia’s S-400 air defense system which, once operational, NATO fears would seriously compromise the alliance’s intelligence sharing and technology — apart from being fully incompatible with NATO systems.

5.Erdogan invested heavily in promoting his Islamic agenda by supporting anti-Western Islamist extremist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and even ISIS.

6.Erdogan uses Islam as a political tool by building mosques and other Islamic theological institutions. He also sends his imams to teach and preach his brand of religious nationalism in many countries in the Middle East and the Balkans.

7.Erdogan violated U.S. sanctions against Iran by laundering up to $20 billion in an oil-for-gold scheme from 2012-2018, and he continues to cooperate and trade with Tehran in defiance of Western interests.

8.Erdogan made a deal with Putin in late 2019 to patrol northern Syria while working closely with Moscow and Tehran to delineate their spheres of influence in the country. He is thus leaving Syria de facto a divided state under their control, while significantly diminishing what’s left of Western influence.

9.Erdogan sent troops to support Libya’s Government of National Accord in an effort to establish a strong foothold in the country, exploiting its oil and gas and threatening the free flow of energy from the Eastern Mediterranean.

10.Erdogan violated a UN arms embargo while resisting NATO’s peace plans in Libya, including exercising extreme aggression against NATO ally France’s warship enforcing the embargo.

11.Erdogan blocked a NATO defense plan for the Baltics and Poland and regularly intimidates Greece, a NATO member state, violating the country’s airspace with Turkish military jets.

12.Erdogan is adamant about drilling for gas in the territorial waters of Cyprus and has begun plans to expand drilling off the coast of the Greek island of Crete.

In that pursuit, he remains at odds with Greece, Cyprus, Egypt and Israel over ownership of natural resources, threatening to use force to secure “his share” which could burgeon into a violent conflict.

13.Last but not least, Erdogan perpetuated the heated conflict with Cyprus over his demand that his puppet — the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus — enjoy equal political power to the Republic of Cyprus, which is four times larger in population and territory and is an EU member state.</blockquote></ref><ref>[https://www.politico.eu/article/mario-draghi-dictator-recep-tayyip-erdogan-sofagate/ Italy’s Draghi slams Erdoğan as a ‘dictator’ after Sofagate] Giorgio Leali, Politico, April 8, 2021.

Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi slammed Turkish Presiden Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.</ref> fascist.<ref>[https://turkeypurge.com/exiled-novelist-asli-erdogan-turkey-has-a-fascist-regime-it-is-not-yet-1940s-germany-but-1930s Exiled novelist Aslı Erdoğan: Turkey has a fascist regime. It is not yet 1940s Germany, but 1930s] TurkeyPurge, Aug 6, 2018</ref><ref>[https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article/turkey-turning-into-fascist-dictatorship-meps-told Turkey turning into "fascist dictatorship", MEPs told] Martin Banks, The Parliament Magazine,, Nov 8, 2016

A leading Turkish opposition parliamentarian says that Turkey has been turned into a "fascist dictatorship" under its President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.</ref><ref>[https://amp2.handelsblatt.com/recep-tayyip-erdogan-birth-of-a-dictator/23540062.html Recep Tayyip Erdogan: Birth of a Dictator] von John Blau, Handelsblatt, Dec 8, 2016.</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/19/jailed-turkish-editor-can-dundar-slams-eu-deal-with-erdogans-fascist-governmentJailed Turkish Editor slams EU deal with Erdogan's fascist government], Kareem Shaheen, Guardian, January 19, 2016</ref><ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/theworldpost/wp/2018/06/25/erdogan/ Opinion: Turkey takes a big step toward nationalist fascism] Omer Taspinar, Washington Post, June 25, 2018</ref> For example, he equated [[Zionism]] with [[Fascism]], [[John Kerry]] criticized him for this statement.<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/01/official-kerry-to-rap-turkey-pm-for-remark/</ref> Yet, after Erdogan previously using extreme silly diatribe against Israel, he changed his attitude towards Israel. In Mar 2022,<ref>AFP News Agency@AFP·2h#UPDATE Israel and Turkey proclaimed a new era in relations on Wednesday following more than a decade of diplomatic rupture, as Israeli President Isaac Herzog made a landmark visit to Ankara. ([http://twitter.com/AFP/status/1501659337646911499 Mar 9, 2022]).</ref> [[Israel]] and Turkey proclaimed a new era in relations on Wednesday following more than a decade of diplomatic rupture, as Israeli President Isaac Herzog made a landmark visit to Ankara.

==Economy==
[[Image:Framed medallion Turkey.jpg|300px|thumb|Framed medallion.]]
Turkey is a large, middle-income country with relatively few natural resources. Its economy is currently in transition from a high degree of reliance on agriculture and heavy industrial economy to a more diversified economy with an increasingly large and globalized services sector. Coming out of a tradition of a state-directed economy that was relatively closed to the outside world, Prime Minister and then President Turgut Özal began to open up the economy in the 1980s, leading to the signing of a Customs Union with the European Union in 1995. In the 1990s, Turkey's economy suffered from a series of coalition governments with weak economic policies, leading to high-inflation boom-and-bust cycles that culminated in a severe banking and economic crisis in 2001 and a deep economic downturn (GNP fell 9.5% in 2001) and increase in unemployment.

Turkey's economy has recovered strongly from the 2001 thanks to good monetary and fiscal policies and structural economic reforms made with the support of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The independence of the Central Bank has been firmly established, a floating exchange rate system has been put in place, and the government's overall budget deficit has been substantially reduced. In addition, there have been substantial reforms in the financial, energy, and telecommunications sectors that have included the privatization of several large state-owned institutions.

Turkey's economy grew an average of 7.5% per year from 2002 through 2006—one of the highest sustained rates of growth in the world. It is expected to grow about 6.1% in 2007. Inflation and interest rates have fallen significantly, the currency has stabilized, government debt has declined to more supportable levels, and business and consumer confidence have returned. At the same time, booming economic growth has contributed to a growing current account deficit. Though Turkey's vulnerabilities have been greatly reduced, the economy could still face problems in the event there is a sudden change in investor sentiment that leads to a sharp fall in the exchange rate. Continued implementation of reforms, including tight fiscal policy, is essential to sustain growth and stability.

After years of low levels of foreign direct investment (FDI), in 2006, Turkey succeeded in attracting $18.9 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) and is expected to attract a similar level in 2007. A series of large privatizations, the stability fostered by the start of Turkey's EU accession negotiations, strong and stable growth, and structural changes in the banking, retail, and telecommunications sectors have all contributed to the rise in foreign investment. Turkey has taken steps to improve its investment climate through administrative streamlining, an end to foreign investment screening, and strengthened intellectual property legislation. However, a number of disputes involving foreign investors in Turkey and certain policies, such as high taxation and continuing gaps in the intellectual property regime, inhibit investment. Turkey has a number of bilateral investment and tax treaties, including with the United States, which guarantee free repatriation of capital in convertible currencies and eliminate double taxation.
*GDP: $750 billion (2020)
*GDP per capita: $8,824 (2020)
*Annual real GDP growth rate: (2004) (+) 8.9%; (2005) 7.4%; (2006) 6.0%.
*Annual inflation rate /CPI: (2003) 18.4%; (2004) 9.3%; (2005) 7.7%; (2006) 9.7%.
*Natural resources: Coal, chromium, mercury, copper, boron, oil, gold.
*Agriculture (10.8% of GNP): Major cash crops—cotton, sugar beets, hazelnuts, wheat, barley, and tobacco. Provides 26% of jobs and 4% of exports.
*Industry (25.4% of GNP): Major growth sector, types—automotive, electronics, food processing, textiles, basic metals, chemicals, and petrochemicals. Provides 20% of jobs.
*Trade: Exports (merchandise)--(2005) $73.1 billion; (2006) $83.5 billion: textiles and apparel, industrial machinery, iron and steel, electronics, petroleum products, and motor vehicles. Imports (merchandise)--(2005) $116 billion; (2006) 135.5 billion: petroleum, machinery, motor vehicles, electronics, iron and steel, plastics precious metals. Major partners—Germany, U.S., Italy, France, Russia, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, U.K.

====Failed European Union accession====
Turkey's principal ongoing economic challenge is providing for the needs of a fast-growing, young population. Raising living standards to those prevalent in Europe will require high rates of GDP growth sustained over many years. This would entail structural reforms that encourage both domestic and foreign investment. Principal areas for reform identified by Western financial intuitions include increasing flexibility in the labor market, making the educational sector more responsive to the needs of the economy and ensuring faster and more predictable operation of the judicial system.

As a former aspirant to membership in the European Union, Turkey aimed to adopt the EU's basic system of national law and regulation (the acquis communautaire) by 2014. However, Obama administration weapons and support for Kurdish terrorists, and racist Western attitudes toward Turks, pretty well scuttled Turkey's desire to join the EU.

====Energy====
[[File:Electric Energy Grid Turkey.jpg|thumb|360px|Electric Energy Grid.]]
Installed electricity generation capacity in Turkey reached 35,600 megawatts (MW) as of 2004. Fossil fuels account for 71% of the total installed capacity and hydro, geothermal, and wind account for the remaining 28%. The growth in electricity generation has remained below electricity demand until recently, which has made Turkey a net importer of electricity since 1997. The growth of energy demand slowed somewhat as a result of the 2001 economic crisis, but has picked up again. Turkish authorities expect a significant electricity shortfall unless new facilities become operational. The Government of Turkey took some important steps in 2001 to liberalize its energy sector, including passage of the Electricity Market Law and establishment of the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA). However, the government has moved slowly to follow through on plans to liberalize and privatize the electricity and natural gas sectors. In 2004, the High Planning Council approved the Electricity Sector Reform Strategy to renew the reform process.

Oil provides about 43% of Turkey's total energy requirements; around 90% is imported. Domestic production is mostly from small fields in the southeast. New exploration is taking place in the eastern Black Sea. In 2004, the Parliament approved a petroleum market reform bill that liberalized consumer prices and would lead to the privatization of the state refining company TUPRAS. TUPRAS was privatized in 2005, but this has been held up by court cases still in process. Turkey has a refining capacity of 802,275 barrels per day (b/d).

Turkey acts as an important link in the East-West Southern Energy Corridor bringing Caspian, Central Asian, and Middle Eastern energy to Europe and world markets. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which came online in July 2006, delivers 1 million b/d of petroleum, and in 2007, the South Caucasus Pipeline (from Shah Deniz) is expected to bring natural gas from Azerbaijan to Turkey. Turkey is building an interconnector pipeline to Greece, an important step in bringing Caspian natural gas to Europe via Turkey.

====Telecommunications====
[[File:Turk map.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Map of Turkey.]]
Parliament enacted legislation separating telecommunications policy and regulatory functions in January 2000, by establishing an independent regulatory body, the Telecommunication Authority. The Authority is responsible for issuing licenses, supervising operators, and taking necessary technical measures against violations of the rules. Most regulatory functions of the Transport Ministry were transferred to the Authority, and the regulator is slowly gaining competence and independence. The long-expected privatization of the state-owned telecommunications company was accomplished by the sale of 55% of Turk Telekom to the Saudi-owned Oger Group in November 2005. With liberalization and growth in the economy, there is growing competition for Internet provision, but Turk Telekom remains the sole provider of ADSL wide band Internet.

====Environment====
[[File:TurkishForest.jpg|thumb|left|280px|Turkish forest.]]
With the establishment of the Environment Ministry in 1991, Turkey began to make significant progress addressing its most pressing environmental problems. The most dramatic improvements were significant reductions of air pollution in Istanbul and Ankara. However, progress has been slow on the remaining—and serious—environmental challenges facing Turkey.

In 2003, the Ministry of Environment was merged with the Forestry Ministry. With its goal to join the EU, Turkey has made commendable progress in updating and modernizing its environmental legislation. However, environmental concerns are not fully integrated into public decision-making and enforcement can be weak. Turkey faces a backlog of environmental problems, requiring enormous outlays for infrastructure. The most pressing needs are for water treatment plants, wastewater treatment facilities, solid waste management, and conservation of biodiversity. The discovery of a number of chemical waste sites in 2006 has highlighted weakness in environmental law and oversight.
{{Clear}}

====Transportation====
The Turkish Government gives a special priority to major infrastructure projects, especially in the transport sector. The government is in the process of building new airports and highways, thanks to an increased public investment budget. The government will realize many of these projects by utilizing the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.

== See also ==
[[File:Blue mosque Istanbul Turkey.jpg|thumb|The Blue Mosque, Istanbul.]]
*[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]]
*[[Battle of Adrianople]]
*[[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]]
*[[Oriental art]]
*[[Göbekli Tepe]]
*[[Catal Huyuk|Çatalhöyük]]
*[[Grey Wolves]]
{{Clear}}

== External links ==
*[http://bertschlossberg.blogspot.com/ A Turkish Delight: they think so in Israel also!]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{| style="width: 100%; background:transparent; border: 2px solid #000099;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="1"
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{{Asian Countries}}

[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:NATO Members]]
[[Category:Turkey]]
[[Category:Muslim-Majority Countries]]

Turkiye

2022-06-08T14:54:11Z

Andrewlee: /* Social conditions */

''For the animal with the same name see [[Turkey (bird)]]''.

{{Country
|name =''Türkiye Cumhuriyeti''
|map =Turkey rel 2006.jpg
|flag =Flag of Turkey.png
|arms =Emblem of Turkey.svg.png
|capital =Ankara
|capital-raw =
|government =Republic
|government-raw =
|language =Turkish
|king =
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =
|pm-raw =
|area =302,535 sq mi
|pop =85,000,000 (2020)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =$794,000,000,000 (2021)
|gdp-year =
|gdp-pc =$9,327 (2021)
|currency =Turkish lira
|idd =
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}}
The '''Republic of Turkey''' ('''Republic of Turkiye''') is a transcontinental country occupying the Anatolian Peninsula of [[Western Asia]], as well as a small section of Southeastern [[Europe]] at the Bosporus Strait.

Turkey has many cultural heritage places. It is the land of the Seven Churches of [[Book of Revelation|Revelation]]. 89.5% of its people are [[Muslim]]s<ref>[https://t24.com.tr/haber/optimar-dan-din-inanc-anketi-yuzde-89-allah-in-varligina-ve-birligine-inaniyor,821459 Optimar'dan din-inanç anketi: Yüzde 89 Allah'ın varlığına ve birliğine inanıyor]</ref> and religion does not play a pivotal role in their lives. Turkey is also more [[pro-life]] than most [[Europe]]an and [[Asia]]n countries.

Turkey has been a "democratic" member of [[NATO]] since 1952; Turkey prohibits openly [[homosexual]] persons from their military and bans [[same-sex marriage]].

==History==
[[Image:St. Sophie Turkey.jpg|right|280px|thumb|Hagia Sophia, Istanbul.]]
[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Mustafa Kemal Pasha]], celebrated by the Turkish State as a Turkish [[World War I]] hero and later known as Atatürk ("Father-Turk"), led the founding of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 after the collapse of the 600-year-old [[Ottoman Empire]] and a three-year war of independence. The empire, which at its peak controlled vast stretches of Northern Africa, Southeastern Europe, and Western Asia, had failed to keep pace with European social and technological developments. The rise of national consciousness impelled several national groups within the Empire to seek independence as nation-states, leading to the empire's fragmentation. This process culminated in the disastrous Ottoman participation in World War I as a German ally. Defeated, shorn of much of its former territory, and partly occupied by forces of the victorious European states, the Ottoman structure was repudiated by Turkish nationalists brought together under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal. The nationalists expelled invading Greek, Armenian, French, British, and Italian forces from Anatolia and Turkish Thrace in a bitter war—and with a diplomatic struggle. After the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey the temporal and religious ruling institutions of the old empire (the sultanate and caliphate) were abolished.

The leaders of the new republic concentrated on consolidating their power and modernizing and Westernizing what had been the empire's core—Asian Anatolia and a part of European Thrace. Social, political, linguistic, and economic reforms and attitudes decreed by Atatürk from 1924-1934 continue to be referred to as the ideological base of modern Turkey. In the post-Atatürk era, and especially after the military coup of 1960, this ideology came to be known as "Kemalism" and his reforms began to be referred to as "revolutions." Kemalism comprises a Turkish form of secularism, strong nationalism, statism, and to a degree a western orientation. The continued validity and applicability of Kemalism are the subject of lively debate in Turkey's political life. The current ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) comes from a tradition that challenges many of the Kemalist precepts and is driven in its reform efforts by a desire to achieve EU accession.

Turkey entered [[World War II]] on the Allied side until shortly before the war ended, becoming a charter member of the [[United Nations]]. Difficulties faced by [[Greece]] after World War II in quelling a communist rebellion and demands by the [[Soviet Union]] for military bases in the Turkish Straits prompted the United States to declare the [[Truman Doctrine]] in 1947. The doctrine enunciated American intentions to guarantee the security of Turkey and Greece and resulted in large scale U.S. military and economic aid under the [[Marshall Plan]]. After participating with United Nations forces in the [[Korean War|Korean conflict]], Turkey in 1952 joined the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] (NATO). Turkey is currently a [[European Union]] candidate, although this has been clouded by their refusal to acknowledge the [[Armenian genocide]].

==Disputed territories==
===Kurdistan===
:{{Main article|Kurdistan}}

===Liwa Iskanderoun (Hatay)===
In 1939, Turkey annexed Hatay State, present-day Hatay Province. Formerly it was ''Liwa Iskanderoun'' of the Mandate for Syria and Lebanon from 1921 to 1938. However, Syrian maps continue to include Hatay as part of Syrian territory.<ref>https://carnegie-mec.org/diwan/54340?lang=en</ref>

==People==
[[File:Istiklal Caddesi 06 24 09 0068.jpg|thumb|right|A busy day on İstiklal Avenue, Istanbul.]]
Modern Turkey encompasses bustling [[cosmopolitan]] centers, pastoral farming villages, barren wastelands, peaceful Aegean coastlines, and steep mountain regions. More than half of Turkey's population lives in urban areas that juxtapose Western lifestyles with more traditional ways of life.

Turkey is officially a [[secular state|secular]] country with no official religion since the constitutional amendment in 1928 and later strengthened by Atatürk's Reforms and the appliance of laicism by the country's founder and first president [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]] on February 5, 1937. Due to oppression of [[Christianity]], Turkey's population is nearly entirely (at least cultural) [[Muslim]]. Most Turkish Muslims follow the [[Sunni]] traditions of Islam, although a significant number follow Alevi and [[Shiite]] traditions. Questions regarding role of religion in society and government, the role of linguistic and ethnic identity, and the public's expectation to live in security dominate public discourse. Turkish citizens who assert a [[Kurds|Kurdish]] identity constitute an ethnic and linguistic group that is estimated at up to 12 million in number.
[[File:Iskenderun church.jpg|thumb|right|St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in İskenderun, Hatay.]]
*Population (2018): 82 million.
*Annual population growth rate (2017 est.): 1.24%.
*Ethnic groups: Turkish, Kurdish, other.
*Religions: Muslim (majority), Christian, [[Baha'i Faith|Baha'i]], and Jewish.
*Languages: Turkish (official and majority), Kurdish, Zaza, Arabic, Armenian, Greek.
*Education: Years compulsory—8. Attendance—97.6%. Literacy—86.5%. ''(it's not current data)''
*Health: Infant mortality rate—39.4/1,000. Life expectancy—68.5 yrs. ''(it's not current data)''
*Work force (23 million): Agriculture—35.6%; industry—17.5%; services—47.2%. ''(it's not current data)''

After [[World War I]] Turkey continued the [[Western world|West]]-oriented [[modernization]] initiated by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] dynasty and statesmen. Many things in Turkey contain a mixture of the West and the East, the old and the new, the traditional and the modern. When you visit even the smallest city in Turkey no matter how little its population is, you will find that different cultural elements, traditions, beliefs, languages or dialects live.<ref>[https://www.studyinturkey.gov.tr/StudyinTurkey/ShowDetail?rID=ctfC0sgwTeQ=&&cId=PE4Nr0mMoY4= Culture - Study in Turkey]</ref> Most of the Turks are said to be cultural or nominal Muslims and continue to practice [[Shamanism|shamanistic]] traditions from pre-Islamic heritage. Even those who have not done anything related to [[Islam]] in their lives see being Muslim as a part of their identity. Although, [[atheism]] and [[deism]] are increasing in Turkey, there is a growing amount of [[Islamism]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2018/04/turkey-why-so-many-turks-are-losing-faith-in-islam.html|title=Why so many Turks are losing faith in Islam|last=Akyol|first=Mustafa|date=2018-04-16|work=Al-Monitor|access-date=2018-04-21|language=en-us}}</ref><ref>[https://www.dw.com/en/atheism-grows-in-turkey-as-recep-tayyip-erdogan-urges-islam/a-47018029 Atheism grows in Turkey as Recep Tayyip Erdogan urges Islam]</ref><ref>[http://asianews.it/news-en/The-number-of-atheists-increasing-in-Turkey-45956.html The number of atheists increasing in Turkey]</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43981745 The young Turks rejecting Islam]</ref><ref>https://www.thecairoreview.com/essays/turkeys-pan-islamist-foreign-policy/</ref> Therefore, they may have a negative attitude towards [[Christianity]] or other religions. Because of historical hostilities and bigotry, some Turks are virulently [[Anti-Christian sentiment|anti-Christian]].<ref>https://www.jihadwatch.org/2020/03/turkey-muslims-screaming-allahu-akbar-disrupt-christian-funeral-desecrate-christian-graves</ref> Some people incite against Christians and the other non-[[Sunni]] religious minorities due to radical nature of Islamic cultural background. The governing [[Justice and Development Party|AKP]] in Turkey depicts Christians as a "threat to the stability of the nation". Turkish Christian citizens have often been stereotyped as not "real Turks" but as "Western collaborators" by this bigoted and prejudiced point of view.<ref>[https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/israel-zionism/2020/12/how-yasir-arafat-drove-christians-from-bethlehem/ How Yasir Arafat Drove Christians from Bethlehem] D. Weinberg, Mosaic Mag., Dec. 28, 2020.</ref>

==Social conditions==
===Persecution of Christians===
Christians are viciously persecuted in Turkey.<ref>https://www.hudson.org/research/preview/16832-turkey-s-christians-face-increasingly-dangerous-persecution</ref> It is common for churches to be confiscated, shuttered, torn down or converted into mosques. In 2020, Turkish dictator Erdoğan, converted the Hagia Sophia back into a mosque and resumed Muslim prayers. According to numerous sources, Christian refugees from the Middle East living in Turkey have been treated with contempt and isolated in remote locations.

===Attacks on Christians and churches===
In 2006, a Muslim killed a Catholic priest at the Saint Maria Catholic Church while he was praying.<ref>https://m.bianet.org/english/minorities/194935-attack-on-saint-maria-catholic-church-in-trabzon</ref>

On April 18, 2007, a group of young Turkish Muslims, broke into a Bible publishing house in Malatya. Two Turkish Christian and a German Christian employees working there were bound, sadistically tortured for hours on end and beheaded.<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/story/turkish-officials-5-more-detained-after-attack-on-christian-publishing-house</ref><ref>[http://www.gofbw.com/print.asp?ID=7257 Group of young Muslims murders 3 Christians in Turkey] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103221900/http://www.gofbw.com/print.asp?ID=7257 |date=January 3, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://articles.latimes.com/2007/apr/19/world/fg-christians19 |title=3 men slain at Bible publishing firm in Turkey |last=King |first=Laura |date=April 19, 2007 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=May 20, 2009}}</ref><ref>[http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,478074,00.html Attack on Christians in Turkey - Three Killed at Bible Publishing Firm], [[Der Spiegel]], April 18, 2007</ref> The accused later said that, ''"We didn't do this for ourselves, but for our religion. Let this be a lesson to enemies of our religion."''

In 2012, an 85 year old Armenian woman living in Istanbul was stabbed to death in her apartment. Afterwards, the murderer carved a crucifix on her naked corpse.<ref>https://www.economist.com/charlemagne/2013/01/29/the-ghosts-of-1915</ref>

In May 2019, an 86 year old Greek man was found murdered in his home, with his hands and feet tied. He was reportedly tortured.<ref>https://www.persecution.org/2019/05/16/possible-hate-murder-turkey/</ref>

In late 2019, a 16 year old Turkish Muslim stabbed a Korean Christian evangelist to death.<ref>https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/cwn/2019/november/lsquo-they-came-to-kill-him-rsquo-evangelist-dies-after-being-stabbed-in-the-heart-on-streets-of-turkey</ref>

On May 8, 2020, a Muslim tried to torch a church that had previously been vandalized with graffiti.<ref>https://en.armradio.am/2020/05/09/armenian-church-in-istanbul-attacked/</ref>

===Vandalism of Christian cemeteries===
In October 2006, a Chakmak Spiritual Christian cemetery in Turkey was vandalized. The grave was found robbed and filled with trash.<ref>http://molokane.org/places/Turkey/Kars/2006_Cemetery.html</ref>

On February 14, 2020, gravestones in the Ortakoy Christian cemetery in Ankara were destroyed.<ref>https://en.protothema.gr/attacks-on-christian-cemeteries-alarm-turkeys-christians/</ref> On the same day, vandals broke a cross of a deceased woman's grave. A few days earlier, a group of Turkish Muslims shouting "Allahu Akbar" tried to sabotage the burial service.<ref>https://haber.sat7turk.com/hate-attack-on-the-latin-catholic-cemetery-in-trabzon/</ref>

In August 2020, graves in an Armenian cemetery were desecrated.<ref>https://www.turkishminute.com/2020/08/13/graves-in-armenian-cemetery-vandalized-amid-growing-hostility-against-minorities-in-turkey/</ref>

In August 2021, Turkish Muslims bulldozed an Armenian cemetery and smashed the gravestones and bones.<ref>https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Van:-Armenian-cemetery-bulldozed,-tombstones-and-bones-smashed-53901.html</ref>

===Racism===
It is common for Syrian Arabs to be attacked and beaten up by fascist gangs in Turkey.<ref>https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/north-africa-west-asia/race-and-racism-in-modern-turkey/</ref> On March 29, 2021, a Syrian refugee family had rocks thrown at their home.<ref>https://www.duvarenglish.com/syrian-refugee-family-target-of-racist-attack-in-southeast-turkey-news-56845</ref> A Turkish [[neo-Nazi]] group beat up an Afghan refugee.<ref>https://www.duvarenglish.com/turkish-neo-nazi-group-beats-afghan-refugee-shares-disturbing-video-news-60017</ref>

==Government and political conditions==
The 1982 Constitution, drafted by the military in the wake of a 1980 military coup, proclaims Turkey's system of government as [[democracy|democratic]], [[secular state|secular]], and [[Parliamentary Republic|parliamentary]]. A [[Presidential Government|presidential system]] was adopted with a referendum in 2017; the new system came into effect with the presidential election in 2018 and gives the President complete control of the executive, including the power to issue decrees, appoint his own cabinet, draw up the budget, dissolve parliament by calling early elections, and pack the bureaucracy and the courts with political appointees. The office of Prime Minister has been abolished and its powers (together with those of the Cabinet) have been transferred to the President, who is the head of state and is elected for a five-year term by direct elections. [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] is the first president elected by direct voting. Turkey's constitution governs the legal framework of the country. It sets out the main principles of government and establishes Turkey as a unitary centralized state.

Executive power is exercized by the President, while the legislative power is vested in the unicameral parliament, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The judiciary is nominally independent from the executive and the legislature, but the constitutional changes that came into effect with the referendums in 2007, 2010 and 2017 gave larger powers to the President and the ruling party for appointing or dismissing judges and prosecutors. The Constitutional Court is charged with ruling on the conformity of laws and decrees with the constitution. The Council of State is the tribunal of last resort for administrative cases, and the High Court of Appeals for all others.
[[File:Turkish Parliament in Ankara.jpg|thumb|300px|The Parliament in Ankara.]]

Universal suffrage for both sexes has been applied throughout Turkey since 1933 and before most countries, and every Turkish citizen who has turned 18 years of age has the right to vote. There are 600 members of parliament who are elected for a five-year term by a party-list proportional representation system from 85 electoral districts. The Constitutional Court can strip the public financing of political parties that it deems anti-secular or separatist, or ban their existence altogether. The electoral threshold is 10 percent of the votes.

Supporters of [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Atatürk]]'s reforms are called Kemalists, as distinguished from [[Islamism|Islamists]], representing the two diverging views regarding the role of religion in legislation, education and public life. The Kemalist view supports a form of democracy with a laicist [[constitution]] and Westernized secular lifestyle, while maintaining the necessity of state intervention in the economy, education and other public services. Since its foundation as a republic in 1923, Turkey has developed a strong tradition of secularism. However, since the 1980s, issues such as income inequality and class distinction have given rise to Islamic [[populism]], a movement that supports a larger role for religion in government policies, and in theory supports obligation to authority, communal solidarity and social justice; though what that entails in practice is often contested. Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the [[Justice and Development Party]] has been described as becoming increasingly authoritarian. Prior to the constitutional referendum in 2017 the Council of Europe saw Turkey drifting towards an autocracy, warning of a "dramatic regression of its democratic order". Many elements in the constitutional reform package that was approved with the referendum in 2017 have increased concerns in the European Union regarding democracy and the separation of powers in Turkey.

As of 2017 the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index rates Turkey at 4.88 (on a 0–10 scale), classifying Turkey as a Hybrid Regime. In 2018, Freedom House rated Turkey at 32 (on a 0–100 scale) as Not Free.

Human-right abuses, especially against [[Christians]] remains a problem<ref>http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78844.htm</ref> and the frequency of violent attacks on Christian ministers and priests is still high.<ref>http://washingtontimes.com/upi/20070418-030533-9552</ref><ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5139408.stm</ref>

The [[Kurdish Worker Party]] (PKK), an [[far-left|extreme]] [[leftist]] ethnic nationalist and [[separatism|separatist]] –originally [[Marxism-Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]]– [[terrorism|terrorist]] organization, founded in 1978, seeks the foundation of an independent [[socialism|socialist]] [[Kurds|Kurdish]] state.<ref name="Jongerden">{{Cite journal|last=Jongerden|first=Joost|date=2017-10-01|title=Gender equality and radical democracy: Contractions and conflicts in relation to the "new paradigm" within the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)|url=https://journals.openedition.org/anatoli/618|journal=Anatoli. De l'Adriatique à la Caspienne. Territoires, Politique, Sociétés|language=en|issue=8|pages=233–256|doi=10.4000/anatoli.618|issn=2111-4064}}</ref> It is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey,<ref name="RadioFrance">{{cite news|url=http://www.english.rfi.fr/asia-pacific/20140116-turkey-spy-agency-denies-role-paris-kurds-murder-launches-probe|title=Turkey spy agency denies role in Paris Kurds murder, launches probe|date=16 January 2014|publisher=Radio France Internationale|access-date=5 February 2014}}</ref> the [[United States]],<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|title=Foreign Terrorist Organizations|url=https://www.state.gov/foreign-terrorist-organizations/|access-date=2021-03-10|website=United States Department of State|language=en-US}}</ref> the [[European Union]],<ref name=":10">{{Cite web|title=Turkey 2019 Report|url=https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/sites/near/files/20190529-turkey-report.pdf|access-date=16 December 2019|website=ec.europa.eu|page=5}}</ref> and some other countries.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web|last=department|first=Attorney-General's|title=Listed terrorist organisations|url=https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205054738/http://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx|archive-date=5 February 2016|access-date=18 December 2019|website=www.nationalsecurity.gov.au|language=en-au}}</ref><ref name="Japan_ban">{{cite web|title=MOFA: Implementation of the Measures including the Freezing of Assets against Terrorists and the Like|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406134416/http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html|archive-date=6 April 2013|access-date=21 November 2013}}</ref> The PKK was formed as part of the Kurdish nationalist schism within the Turkish [[communism|communist]] movement<ref name="Jongerden"/> and the growing discontent over the suppression of Turkey's Kurds, in an effort to establish linguistic, cultural, and political rights for the Kurdish minority.<ref name="Palgrave Macmillan">{{cite book|last1=Joseph|first1=J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G06BDAAAQBAJ|title=Turkey and the European Union internal dynamics and external challenges|date=2006|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|isbn=0230598587|location=Basingstoke [England]|page=100}}</ref> Following the military coup of 1980, the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in public and private life to prevent separatism.<ref name="NYTK">Toumani, Meline. [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/magazine/17turkey-t.html?ex=1361854800&en=df64cf85326e2103&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink Minority Rules], ''[[New York Times]]'', 17 February 2008</ref> Many who spoke, published, or sang in Kurdish were arrested and imprisoned.<ref name="Cambridge University Press">{{cite book|last1=Aslan|first1=Senem|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wTAWBQAAQBAJ|title=Nation Building in Turkey and Morocco|date=2014|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1107054608|page=134}}</ref> The PKK's response to these policies has been the bombing of downtowns, the massacre of civilians, and the destruction of schools and hospitals in the Kurdish-majority cities of Turkey.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10576100701558620|doi = 10.1080/10576100701558620|title = The Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) as Criminal Syndicate: Funding Terrorism through Organized Crime, A Case Study|year = 2007|last1 = Roth|first1 = Mitchel P.|last2 = Sever|first2 = Murat|journal = Studies in Conflict & Terrorism|volume = 30|issue = 10|pages = 901–920|s2cid = 110700560}}</ref><ref name="amnestysecurity"/><ref name="childsoldiers"/> It has faced condemnation by some countries and human rights organizations for the killing of teachers and civil servants,<ref name="amnestysecurity">{{Cite web | url = https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a9ea0.html | title = No Security Without Human Rights | publisher = [[Amnesty International]] | access-date = 1 February 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Öğretmen Necmettin Yılmaz'ın Öldürülmesini Kınıyoruz!|url=https://www.ihd.org.tr/ogretmen-necmettin-yilmazin-oldurulmesini-kiniyoruz/|access-date=2021-03-12|website=[[İnsan Hakları Derneği]]|language=tr}}</ref> using [[Suicide attack|suicide bombers]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Foreign diplomats, countries condemn Cizre attack - World News|url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/foreign-diplomats-countries-condemn-cizre-attack-103271|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Hürriyet Daily News|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=PKK claims deadly suicide bombing at Turkish police station|url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-claims-responsibility-suicide-bombing-left-11-dead-turkey-1381604350|access-date=27 December 2018|website=Middle East Eye|archive-date=14 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214114351/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-claims-responsibility-suicide-bombing-left-11-dead-turkey-1381604350|url-status=dead}}</ref> and recruiting child soldiers.<ref name="childsoldiers">{{Cite web | url = https://www.refworld.org/docid/498805c428.html | title = Child Soldiers Global Report 2001 - Turkey | publisher = [[Child Soldiers International]] | access-date = 1 February 2021 }}</ref><ref name="HRWCS">{{Cite web|date=2016-12-22|title=Iraq: Armed Groups Using Child Soldiers|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/12/22/iraq-armed-groups-using-child-soldiers-0|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Human Rights Watch|language=en}}</ref> It was armed by the [[Obama administration]].<ref>https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/antifa-ypg-pkk-ties-threaten-national-peace-in-west/1899520</ref> The PKK trained [[Antifa]] fighters in Northern [[Syria]].<ref>https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/war-on-terror/ypgpkk-recruited-foreign-fighters-from-antifa-groups-in-western-countries-report-says</ref>

[[File:Ankara panorama Turkey.jpg|thumb|center|700px|The capital Ankara.]]

{{Clear}}
===Principal government officials===
*President of the Republic — Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
*Vice President of the Republic — Fuat Oktay

===Military===
Turkiye is a member of NATO and has the largest manpower contingent and reserves of all NATO members.

During the 2022 [[Russo-Ukraine war]], Turkey sold large numbers of [[Bayraktar drone]]s to the [[Kyiv regime]]. <ref>https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/04/27/drones-russia-ukraine-war-donbas/</ref>

===Foreign relations===
[[File:Turkish girls laughing in calimanesti.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Turkish dancers in a festival in [[Romania]].]]
Turkey's primary political, economic, and security ties are with the West, although some voices call for a more "Eurasian" orientation.

Turkey entered NATO in 1952 and serves as the organization's vital eastern anchor, controlling the straits leading from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and sharing a border with Syria, Iraq, and Iran. A NATO headquarters is located in Izmir. Besides its relationships with NATO and the EU, Turkey is a member of the OECD, the Council of Europe, and OSCE. Turkey also is a member of the UN and the Islamic Conference Organization (OIC). In December 1999, Turkey became a candidate for EU membership. On December 17, 2004, the EU decided to begin formal accession negotiations with Turkey in October 2005.

Turkey and the EU formed a customs union beginning January 1, 1996. The agreement covers industrial and processed agricultural goods. Turkey is harmonizing its laws and regulations with EU standards. Turkey adopted the EU's Common External Tariff regime, effectively lowering Turkey's tariffs for third countries, including the United States.

On October 3, 2005, Turkey and the EU reached agreement for Turkey to begin negotiations on accession to the European Union. Turkey and EU officials have begun the process of screening Turkey's laws and policies in order to begin negotiating the individual chapters required for ultimate EU accession. However, this admission request has not been without criticism,<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2420697.stm</ref> including:
*Serious human rights violations<ref>http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20070419-0809-italy-turkey-eu.html</ref>
*Refusal to admit genocide of [[Armenia]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6043730.stm</ref>
*Refusal to recognize [[Cyprus]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6153186.stm</ref>
*Only 3% of Turkey is in [[Europe]]
*Threat of increasing [[Islamic]] fundamentalism<ref>http://www.freemuslims.org/news/article.php?article=1761</ref>

Turkey opened and provisionally closed in 2006 one EU negotiating chapter on science and technology. Another chapter on statistics was opened in February 2007, and two more are expected to be opened by July 1, 2007. Eight chapters, mostly related to trade, were suspended by the European Council in December 2006 after Turkey declined to open its ports and airports to Cypriot vessels—a commitment Turkey made as part of the Ankara Protocol and its EU Customs Union membership.

Turkey is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It has signed free trade agreements with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Israel, and many other countries. In 1992 Turkey and 10 other regional nations formed the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Council to expand regional trade and economic cooperation. Turkey chaired BSEC in 2007 and hosted in Istanbul the 15th BSEC Summit in June 2007.

====Relations with the United States====
U.S.-Turkish friendship dates to the late 18th century and was officially sealed by a treaty in 1830. The present close relationship began with the agreement of July 12, 1947, which implemented the Truman Doctrine. As part of the cooperative effort to further Turkish economic and military self-reliance, the United States has loaned and granted Turkey more than $12.5 billion in economic aid and more than $14 billion in military assistance.

U.S.-Turkish relations focus on areas such as strategic energy cooperation, trade and investment, security ties, regional stability, the global war on terrorism, and human rights progress. Relations were strained when Turkey refused in March 2003 to allow U.S. troops to deploy through its territory to Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom, but regained momentum steadily thereafter and mutual interests remain strong across a wide spectrum of issues. On July 5, 2006, Secretary Rice and then-Foreign Minister Gül signed a Shared Vision Statement to highlight the common values and goals between our two countries and to lay out a framework for increased strategic dialogue.

The U.S. and Turkey have had a Joint Economic Commission and a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, which last met in Washington in April 2007, for several years. In 2002, the two countries indicated their joint intent to upgrade bilateral economic relations by launching an Economic Partnership Commission, which last convened in Ankara in February 2007. In 2006, Turkish exports to the U.S. totaled about $5.4 billion, and U.S. exports to Turkey totaled $5.7 billion.

[[Condoleezza Rice]] ones described Turkey as “a vital and strategic partner of the United States”. But with the rise of Erdoğan and Obama, relations fell into a different mode.<ref>https://www.nationalreview.com/article/348422/erdo%C4%9Fan%E2%80%99s-agenda</ref> Erdoğan - a dictator<ref>[https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/11/turkey-erdogan-coup-hdp-pkk-syria-gulen-ypg Turkey's Fascist Slide] Güney Işıkara, Alp Kayserilioğlu, Max Zirngast, Jacobin, Nov 10, 2016.
Turkish president Erdoğan is wielding the state to attack anyone who won't capitulate to his authoritarian rule.</ref><ref>[https://m.imdb.com/title/tt7054718/ Erdogan: The Dictator's Republic], Imbd,
2017</ref><ref>[https://stockholmcf.org/turkish-journalist-goes-on-trial-for-insulting-erdogan-in-fascist-dictatorship-column/ Turkish journalist goes on trial for insulting Erdoğan in ‘fascist dictatorship’ column] SCF, June 28, 2018</ref><ref>[https://euobserver.com/political/147624 What does Erdoğan want?] Robert Debeuf, EU Observer, Mar 4, 2020.

"Shameful...unacceptable....blackmail...dictator." European leaders didn't spare their words to condemn Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan after his decision on Friday (28 February) to open its border with Greece and let refugees enter into Europe.

On Monday, Erdoğan stepped up his game warning that "millions" of refugees would come to Europe.

He also said he refused €1m in extra cash, saying "we don't want this money".

Despite this statement, former Nato secretary-general Willy Claes said on Belgian television that Erdogan is "a dictator" and that "all he wants is money".</ref><ref>[https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/11/16/biden-action-against-erdogan/amp/ Will Biden Turn His Words Against Dictator Erdoğan Into Action?]Adulrahman Taleb, Greek City Times, Nov 16, 2020.
Furthermore, Biden openly attacked dictator Erdoğan and called him an “autocrat” and promised that he will work with the opposition parties.</ref><ref>[https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/12/31/what-the-biden-presidency-means-for-turkey-and-erdogan-post-trump.html Erdogan should be very, very worried': What the Biden presidency means for Turkey] Natasha Turak, CNBC, Dec 31, 2020.
In an interview last January, Biden called Erdogan an “autocrat,” criticized his actions toward the Kurds..</ref><ref>[https://amp.france24.com/en/20190313-netanyahu-hits-back-turkeys-dictator-erdogan Netanyahu hits back at 'Turkey's dictator Erdogan'], ''France 24'', Mar 13, 2019.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday slammed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a "dictator" and "a joke"...</ref> ethnic-cleanser, oppressor, Islamist<ref>[https://www.theglobalist.com/turkey-recep-tayyip-erdogan-eu-nato-kurds-islamism/ J’Accuse Erdogan] Alon Ben-Meir, Globalist, July 9, 2020.

The weaker Recep Tayyip Erdogan is at home politically, the longer the list of the Turkish President’s transgressions gets.
<blockquote>
A preliminary list of Erdogan’s transgressions

For evidence, it is useful to assemble the list of transgressions that seem to be the only category Erdogan still seems to “excel” in.
Most fundamentally, Erdogan is violating every article of human rights in his own country, while being keen on destabilizing other countries by exploiting their weaknesses and resources in order to promote his nationalist agenda.

I count altogether 13 specific major transgressions:

1.Erdogan continues to commit gross human rights violations in Turkey by using the failed 2016 military coup as an excuse to silence the media.
Based on a judiciary that, for the most part, barely deserves that name, Erdogan has jailed over 150 journalists, incarcerated around 80,000 suspected of affiliation with the Gülen movement and purged 150,000 military officers and civil servants.

2.Erdogan engages in a systematic operation of ethnic cleansing against minorities in Turkey and northern Syria.

He invaded Syria to both prevent the Syrian Kurdish community from establishing autonomous rule, and to entrench for Turkey a permanent foothold in the country, which is bound to only prolong the conflict and further destabilize the region.

3.Erdogan systematically persecutes his own Kurdish community and continues a 50-year-old war against the PKK, which he views as a terrorist organization.

He also steadfastly refuses to resume negotiations with the Kurds — which account for as much as 20% of Turkey’s population — and end the carnage that has taken the lives of approximately 40,000 on both sides.

4.Erdogan purchased Russia’s S-400 air defense system which, once operational, NATO fears would seriously compromise the alliance’s intelligence sharing and technology — apart from being fully incompatible with NATO systems.

5.Erdogan invested heavily in promoting his Islamic agenda by supporting anti-Western Islamist extremist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and even ISIS.

6.Erdogan uses Islam as a political tool by building mosques and other Islamic theological institutions. He also sends his imams to teach and preach his brand of religious nationalism in many countries in the Middle East and the Balkans.

7.Erdogan violated U.S. sanctions against Iran by laundering up to $20 billion in an oil-for-gold scheme from 2012-2018, and he continues to cooperate and trade with Tehran in defiance of Western interests.

8.Erdogan made a deal with Putin in late 2019 to patrol northern Syria while working closely with Moscow and Tehran to delineate their spheres of influence in the country. He is thus leaving Syria de facto a divided state under their control, while significantly diminishing what’s left of Western influence.

9.Erdogan sent troops to support Libya’s Government of National Accord in an effort to establish a strong foothold in the country, exploiting its oil and gas and threatening the free flow of energy from the Eastern Mediterranean.

10.Erdogan violated a UN arms embargo while resisting NATO’s peace plans in Libya, including exercising extreme aggression against NATO ally France’s warship enforcing the embargo.

11.Erdogan blocked a NATO defense plan for the Baltics and Poland and regularly intimidates Greece, a NATO member state, violating the country’s airspace with Turkish military jets.

12.Erdogan is adamant about drilling for gas in the territorial waters of Cyprus and has begun plans to expand drilling off the coast of the Greek island of Crete.

In that pursuit, he remains at odds with Greece, Cyprus, Egypt and Israel over ownership of natural resources, threatening to use force to secure “his share” which could burgeon into a violent conflict.

13.Last but not least, Erdogan perpetuated the heated conflict with Cyprus over his demand that his puppet — the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus — enjoy equal political power to the Republic of Cyprus, which is four times larger in population and territory and is an EU member state.</blockquote></ref><ref>[https://www.politico.eu/article/mario-draghi-dictator-recep-tayyip-erdogan-sofagate/ Italy’s Draghi slams Erdoğan as a ‘dictator’ after Sofagate] Giorgio Leali, Politico, April 8, 2021.

Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi slammed Turkish Presiden Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.</ref> fascist.<ref>[https://turkeypurge.com/exiled-novelist-asli-erdogan-turkey-has-a-fascist-regime-it-is-not-yet-1940s-germany-but-1930s Exiled novelist Aslı Erdoğan: Turkey has a fascist regime. It is not yet 1940s Germany, but 1930s] TurkeyPurge, Aug 6, 2018</ref><ref>[https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article/turkey-turning-into-fascist-dictatorship-meps-told Turkey turning into "fascist dictatorship", MEPs told] Martin Banks, The Parliament Magazine,, Nov 8, 2016

A leading Turkish opposition parliamentarian says that Turkey has been turned into a "fascist dictatorship" under its President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.</ref><ref>[https://amp2.handelsblatt.com/recep-tayyip-erdogan-birth-of-a-dictator/23540062.html Recep Tayyip Erdogan: Birth of a Dictator] von John Blau, Handelsblatt, Dec 8, 2016.</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/19/jailed-turkish-editor-can-dundar-slams-eu-deal-with-erdogans-fascist-governmentJailed Turkish Editor slams EU deal with Erdogan's fascist government], Kareem Shaheen, Guardian, January 19, 2016</ref><ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/theworldpost/wp/2018/06/25/erdogan/ Opinion: Turkey takes a big step toward nationalist fascism] Omer Taspinar, Washington Post, June 25, 2018</ref> For example, he equated [[Zionism]] with [[Fascism]], [[John Kerry]] criticized him for this statement.<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/01/official-kerry-to-rap-turkey-pm-for-remark/</ref> Yet, after Erdogan previously using extreme silly diatribe against Israel, he changed his attitude towards Israel. In Mar 2022,<ref>AFP News Agency@AFP·2h#UPDATE Israel and Turkey proclaimed a new era in relations on Wednesday following more than a decade of diplomatic rupture, as Israeli President Isaac Herzog made a landmark visit to Ankara. ([http://twitter.com/AFP/status/1501659337646911499 Mar 9, 2022]).</ref> [[Israel]] and Turkey proclaimed a new era in relations on Wednesday following more than a decade of diplomatic rupture, as Israeli President Isaac Herzog made a landmark visit to Ankara.

==Economy==
[[Image:Framed medallion Turkey.jpg|300px|thumb|Framed medallion.]]
Turkey is a large, middle-income country with relatively few natural resources. Its economy is currently in transition from a high degree of reliance on agriculture and heavy industrial economy to a more diversified economy with an increasingly large and globalized services sector. Coming out of a tradition of a state-directed economy that was relatively closed to the outside world, Prime Minister and then President Turgut Özal began to open up the economy in the 1980s, leading to the signing of a Customs Union with the European Union in 1995. In the 1990s, Turkey's economy suffered from a series of coalition governments with weak economic policies, leading to high-inflation boom-and-bust cycles that culminated in a severe banking and economic crisis in 2001 and a deep economic downturn (GNP fell 9.5% in 2001) and increase in unemployment.

Turkey's economy has recovered strongly from the 2001 thanks to good monetary and fiscal policies and structural economic reforms made with the support of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The independence of the Central Bank has been firmly established, a floating exchange rate system has been put in place, and the government's overall budget deficit has been substantially reduced. In addition, there have been substantial reforms in the financial, energy, and telecommunications sectors that have included the privatization of several large state-owned institutions.

Turkey's economy grew an average of 7.5% per year from 2002 through 2006—one of the highest sustained rates of growth in the world. It is expected to grow about 6.1% in 2007. Inflation and interest rates have fallen significantly, the currency has stabilized, government debt has declined to more supportable levels, and business and consumer confidence have returned. At the same time, booming economic growth has contributed to a growing current account deficit. Though Turkey's vulnerabilities have been greatly reduced, the economy could still face problems in the event there is a sudden change in investor sentiment that leads to a sharp fall in the exchange rate. Continued implementation of reforms, including tight fiscal policy, is essential to sustain growth and stability.

After years of low levels of foreign direct investment (FDI), in 2006, Turkey succeeded in attracting $18.9 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) and is expected to attract a similar level in 2007. A series of large privatizations, the stability fostered by the start of Turkey's EU accession negotiations, strong and stable growth, and structural changes in the banking, retail, and telecommunications sectors have all contributed to the rise in foreign investment. Turkey has taken steps to improve its investment climate through administrative streamlining, an end to foreign investment screening, and strengthened intellectual property legislation. However, a number of disputes involving foreign investors in Turkey and certain policies, such as high taxation and continuing gaps in the intellectual property regime, inhibit investment. Turkey has a number of bilateral investment and tax treaties, including with the United States, which guarantee free repatriation of capital in convertible currencies and eliminate double taxation.
*GDP: $750 billion (2020)
*GDP per capita: $8,824 (2020)
*Annual real GDP growth rate: (2004) (+) 8.9%; (2005) 7.4%; (2006) 6.0%.
*Annual inflation rate /CPI: (2003) 18.4%; (2004) 9.3%; (2005) 7.7%; (2006) 9.7%.
*Natural resources: Coal, chromium, mercury, copper, boron, oil, gold.
*Agriculture (10.8% of GNP): Major cash crops—cotton, sugar beets, hazelnuts, wheat, barley, and tobacco. Provides 26% of jobs and 4% of exports.
*Industry (25.4% of GNP): Major growth sector, types—automotive, electronics, food processing, textiles, basic metals, chemicals, and petrochemicals. Provides 20% of jobs.
*Trade: Exports (merchandise)--(2005) $73.1 billion; (2006) $83.5 billion: textiles and apparel, industrial machinery, iron and steel, electronics, petroleum products, and motor vehicles. Imports (merchandise)--(2005) $116 billion; (2006) 135.5 billion: petroleum, machinery, motor vehicles, electronics, iron and steel, plastics precious metals. Major partners—Germany, U.S., Italy, France, Russia, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, U.K.

====Failed European Union accession====
Turkey's principal ongoing economic challenge is providing for the needs of a fast-growing, young population. Raising living standards to those prevalent in Europe will require high rates of GDP growth sustained over many years. This would entail structural reforms that encourage both domestic and foreign investment. Principal areas for reform identified by Western financial intuitions include increasing flexibility in the labor market, making the educational sector more responsive to the needs of the economy and ensuring faster and more predictable operation of the judicial system.

As a former aspirant to membership in the European Union, Turkey aimed to adopt the EU's basic system of national law and regulation (the acquis communautaire) by 2014. However, Obama administration weapons and support for Kurdish terrorists, and racist Western attitudes toward Turks, pretty well scuttled Turkey's desire to join the EU.

====Energy====
[[File:Electric Energy Grid Turkey.jpg|thumb|360px|Electric Energy Grid.]]
Installed electricity generation capacity in Turkey reached 35,600 megawatts (MW) as of 2004. Fossil fuels account for 71% of the total installed capacity and hydro, geothermal, and wind account for the remaining 28%. The growth in electricity generation has remained below electricity demand until recently, which has made Turkey a net importer of electricity since 1997. The growth of energy demand slowed somewhat as a result of the 2001 economic crisis, but has picked up again. Turkish authorities expect a significant electricity shortfall unless new facilities become operational. The Government of Turkey took some important steps in 2001 to liberalize its energy sector, including passage of the Electricity Market Law and establishment of the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA). However, the government has moved slowly to follow through on plans to liberalize and privatize the electricity and natural gas sectors. In 2004, the High Planning Council approved the Electricity Sector Reform Strategy to renew the reform process.

Oil provides about 43% of Turkey's total energy requirements; around 90% is imported. Domestic production is mostly from small fields in the southeast. New exploration is taking place in the eastern Black Sea. In 2004, the Parliament approved a petroleum market reform bill that liberalized consumer prices and would lead to the privatization of the state refining company TUPRAS. TUPRAS was privatized in 2005, but this has been held up by court cases still in process. Turkey has a refining capacity of 802,275 barrels per day (b/d).

Turkey acts as an important link in the East-West Southern Energy Corridor bringing Caspian, Central Asian, and Middle Eastern energy to Europe and world markets. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which came online in July 2006, delivers 1 million b/d of petroleum, and in 2007, the South Caucasus Pipeline (from Shah Deniz) is expected to bring natural gas from Azerbaijan to Turkey. Turkey is building an interconnector pipeline to Greece, an important step in bringing Caspian natural gas to Europe via Turkey.

====Telecommunications====
[[File:Turk map.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Map of Turkey.]]
Parliament enacted legislation separating telecommunications policy and regulatory functions in January 2000, by establishing an independent regulatory body, the Telecommunication Authority. The Authority is responsible for issuing licenses, supervising operators, and taking necessary technical measures against violations of the rules. Most regulatory functions of the Transport Ministry were transferred to the Authority, and the regulator is slowly gaining competence and independence. The long-expected privatization of the state-owned telecommunications company was accomplished by the sale of 55% of Turk Telekom to the Saudi-owned Oger Group in November 2005. With liberalization and growth in the economy, there is growing competition for Internet provision, but Turk Telekom remains the sole provider of ADSL wide band Internet.

====Environment====
[[File:TurkishForest.jpg|thumb|left|280px|Turkish forest.]]
With the establishment of the Environment Ministry in 1991, Turkey began to make significant progress addressing its most pressing environmental problems. The most dramatic improvements were significant reductions of air pollution in Istanbul and Ankara. However, progress has been slow on the remaining—and serious—environmental challenges facing Turkey.

In 2003, the Ministry of Environment was merged with the Forestry Ministry. With its goal to join the EU, Turkey has made commendable progress in updating and modernizing its environmental legislation. However, environmental concerns are not fully integrated into public decision-making and enforcement can be weak. Turkey faces a backlog of environmental problems, requiring enormous outlays for infrastructure. The most pressing needs are for water treatment plants, wastewater treatment facilities, solid waste management, and conservation of biodiversity. The discovery of a number of chemical waste sites in 2006 has highlighted weakness in environmental law and oversight.
{{Clear}}

====Transportation====
The Turkish Government gives a special priority to major infrastructure projects, especially in the transport sector. The government is in the process of building new airports and highways, thanks to an increased public investment budget. The government will realize many of these projects by utilizing the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.

== See also ==
[[File:Blue mosque Istanbul Turkey.jpg|thumb|The Blue Mosque, Istanbul.]]
*[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]]
*[[Battle of Adrianople]]
*[[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]]
*[[Oriental art]]
*[[Göbekli Tepe]]
*[[Catal Huyuk|Çatalhöyük]]
*[[Grey Wolves]]
{{Clear}}

== External links ==
*[http://bertschlossberg.blogspot.com/ A Turkish Delight: they think so in Israel also!]

==References==
{{reflist}}

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|style=" background-color: none;"| This work is in the [[Public Domain]] in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the U.S. Code
|-
!style=" background-color: #000088; color:white;"|Source:
|style="background-color: none;border-top: 2px solid black"| File available from the {{{1|[[United States Federal Government]] [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3432.htm]}}}.
|}

{{Asian Countries}}

[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:NATO Members]]
[[Category:Turkey]]
[[Category:Muslim-Majority Countries]]

User talk:RobSmith

2022-06-08T03:43:32Z

Andrewlee: /* False info */ new section

*[[User talk:RobSmith/Archive 1]]
*[[User talk:RobSmith/Archive 2]]
*[[User talk:RobSmith/Archive 3]]
*[[User talk:RobSmith/Archive 4]]
*[[User talk:RobSmith/Archive 5]]
*[[User talk:RobSmith/Archive 6]]
*[[User talk:RobSmith/Archive 7]]
*[[User talk:RobSmith/Archive 8]]
*[[User talk:RobSmith/Archive 9]]
*[[User talk:RobSmith/Archive 10]]
*[[User talk:RobSmith/Archive 11]]
*[[User talk:RobSmith/Archive 12]]
*[[User talk:RobSmith/Archive 13]]

==Dec 2021==

I've been trying to figure out how to work this one in, combining the Rittenhouse verdict and [[Fredogate]] with the subject of self-defense: [https://www.bizpacreview.com/2021/11/27/says-the-guy-who-threatens-to-beat-people-up-a-lot-chris-cuomo-is-unhappy-with-self-defense-definition-1168453/ ‘Says the guy who threatens to beat people up;]. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 18:53, December 1, 2021 (EST)
:Will look into it. I have to say that Cuomo wasn't that far lefty before 2016.| Good morning. Please caution on first image, not on an empty stomach.
[https://www.news1.co.il/uploadimages/NEWS1-13-413784205913544.jpg (Oct/2000)]
[https://img.mako.co.il/2015/10/13/17029_C.jpg wild mob]
[https://www.makorrishon.co.il/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/WhatsApp-Image-2021-12-02-at-08.50.18.jpeg Hamas cartoon condemning PA for rescuing the 2 Jews Dec-1-2021][[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]])
:[https://conservapedia.com/Special:Log/upload Done]. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 15:14, December 2, 2021 (EST)
::Real "victims" Smollet & Brooks LOL-
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/jussie-smollett-real-victim-attack-chicago-lawyer-argues | https://www.foxnews.com/us/waukesha-parade-suspect-darrell-brooks-jail-dehumanized-demonized-interview [[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]])

:Looks like a developing, long-running storyline and narrative. Brooks apparently is the next Michael Brown of Ferguson fame. Brooks apparently was trying to surrender to the police (who were incompetently protecting minority citizens from a neighboring city) while fleeing a knife fight when his car accidentally lost control and killed six people. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 20:32, December 2, 2021 (EST)
::Is woke-ism till in the "works" in "improving" this theory? [[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]])
:::Oh yes, definitely. These poor oppressed individuals Smollett & Brooks, in their desperate actions to fight for social justice, now face the white man's justice. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 21:13, December 2, 2021 (EST)

::::2 recent...[https://b7net.co.il/dyncontent/2021/11/29/ba4ffd78-e16a-4150-bb28-bd7ddf8e2a5b.jpeg Nov-29-21] |[https://ynet-images1.yit.co.il/picserver5/crop_images/2021/11/29/BJgxmexfFK/BJgxmexfFK_258_173_717_404_0_large.jpg Nov-28-21][[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]])
:::::[https://conservapedia.com/Special:Log/upload Done]. Sorry for the delay. I'm up to my ears in research on [[Faucism]] right now. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 22:26, December 4, 2021 (EST)
:::::I got the lynching one, too. Also, my Skype account crashed and I haven't reloaded it yet, so I'm back on Slack for instant messaging. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 23:28, December 4, 2021 (EST)

::::::I'm on there only once in a while. I hope you succeed with Skype etc.. This 2019 is classic, as both messages are on packages... Jihad and swastika...[https://www.0404.co.il/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/חבילות-חשד-למטען-כביש-חוצה-יהודה1-e1564340789639.jpg July/2019, Islamic Jihad w/ swastika in Judea][[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]]) 00:26, December 5, 2021 (EST)

:::::::[https://conservapedia.com/File:Jihad_and_swastika.jpg Got it]. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 00:35, December 5, 2021 (EST)
::::::::Seen latest on Chris Cuomo?[[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]])
:::::::::It'll be interesting to see where he lands. Maybe as Antfa's press spokesman. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 15:24, December 5, 2021 (EST)
::::::::::This [https://t.co/uGLJtHvlfg Chris Cuomo’s entire career was worth it for this one moment ] is epic.|Another topic, look at this woke Dem useful idiot fooled [https://nypost.com/2021/12/04/woke-new-jersey-dem-fooled-by-fake-rabbis-parody-twitter-account/] the joke of the year.[[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]])
:::::::::::Dunno whether to laugh or cry. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 10:11, December 7, 2021 (EST)

===Image===
[https://images1.ynet.co.il/PicServer5/2017/03/30/7685990/76859850100082640360no.jpg Himmler to Mufti 1 (1943)]|[https://images1.ynet.co.il//PicServer5/2017/03/30/7685998/76859870100079640360no.jpg Himmler to Mufti 2 (1943)]|[https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/t_JM_ArticleMainImageFaceDetect/469952 Mufti's Muslim-SS Handschar]|[https://64.media.tumblr.com/6db777f1acef5f25b9aae589731ea5b9/tumblr_pridnjoCTJ1r29p1do1_1280.jpg lying Rashida1]|[https://i.imgur.com/pcM7XRJ.png L.R.2], when you get a chance.[[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]])
:[https://conservapedia.com/Special:Log/upload All caught up now.] [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 10:29, December 7, 2021 (EST)
::Thanks. Appreciated, especially that you're so busy. Can you grab a screenshot of this [https://books.google.com/books?id=X74zAQAAIAAJ&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=Shukairy+%22Our+common+target%22]?[[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]])
:::[https://conservapedia.com/File:Survey_of_China_Mainland_Press,_Issues_3406-3428,_1965,_p_35.PNG Done]. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 14:20, December 8, 2021 (EST)
::::HI. I couldn't stop laughing. This is awesome https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1473079182980788226 [[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]]) 21:03, December 20, 2021 (EST)
:::::It's like Andrew Klavan said, we have to laugh our way through the fall of the republic. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 21:13, December 20, 2021 (EST)
::::::Yup. For now. Till with the Grace of God it will all be improved.~~•
:::::::And God acts through people. This we have to realize and keep in mind. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 22:51, December 20, 2021 (EST)
::::::::Sure. Stay safe this holiday season. G'night.[[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]])

__

Hi. This one is shameful...[https://mobile.twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1473435061768929281/photo/1 Kimberlynn]
Happy New Year![[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]]) 00:18, December 27, 2021 (EST)
:Yah, I saw this story, and it was so unbelievable, I wasn't sure which article it could be included in. This looks almost like cult behavior. [ https://conservapedia.com/File:Kimberlynn_Jurkowski.PNG] [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 01:05, December 27, 2021 (EST)
::You're right. Can you grab a screenshot where her name appears at WATKINS section? [https://www.capitolhillclusterschool.org/lsat][[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]])
:::[https://conservapedia.com/File:Kimberlynn_Jurkowski_LSAT.PNG How's this?] I can crop it down to just the bottom half, if you want. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 20:13, December 27, 2021 (EST)
::::As always, you're doing great. | I made the distinction between WW2 era and today at ''antifa''. I hope it's clear. As today it's a clear '''oxymoron'''. They always hide their twisted ideas under perceived nice "benign" titles.[[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]])
:::::Yah, that Antifa article is pretty good as is, but it could use some reorganization, clarity, and updating. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 23:04, December 27, 2021 (EST)
:::::Basically, it's too cramped. It needs some expansion. The original authors wrote it as if it was the final word on the subject, but much information and interest has developed since then. Perhaps dividing into eras, like pre-WWII, East German, evolution and change, late 20th century, Trump era, Biden era, etc.

___

Hi. When you get a chance:
[https://www.brooklynpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/00E83409-D7DC-4478-9033-E9C36ED9AB0A-1200x675.png June 27, 2021. Little Palestine, Bay Ridge]| [https://2nqf1a2pxrmv1i0jyy3lbz8e-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ScreenShot2020-12-22at4_55_07PM_644fad5187eac0ced9a0031c5b9a2d60_2000-298x300.jpg Swastika on Park Slope school, Dec 13, 2020]| [https://newyork.cbslocal.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/14578484/2021/12/3523-21-68-Pct.-HCTF-12-26-21-Photo-1.jpg?w=1068 Hate crime, little Palestine, Bay Ridge, Dec 28, 2021]. Regards.[[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]])

==Lie of the year==
Can someone create a graphic per this:

[https://freebeacon.com/?p=1551060 LIE OF THE THE YEAR: ‘I Will Shut Down The Virus’]
<blockquote>
Biden's COVID-19 death count passes 400K

Andrew Stiles • December 23, 2021

More than 400,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 since President Joe Biden took office.
Biden achieved the grim milestone despite repeatedly telling the American people that electing him president was the only way to "shut down the virus." That turned out to be an egregious lie.

The Washington Free Beacon projects that Biden's COVID-19 death toll will exceed that of his predecessor (408,450) by the end of the year, and will reach approximately 420,069 by the time he delivers his first State of the Union address.</blockquote>
Thanks.[[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]])
:I've been on the lookout for a graphic, too. Maybe I can ask LT to do something with it.
:Anther thing I've been looking for, which according to public and private agencies that keep such records and are often delayed months and years, is the number of illegal immigrant deaths, both in custody and out. Since it's been a record year of illegal immigration, it naturally follows that it must also have been a record year of illegal immigrant deaths, whether in custody, crossing the border, or trying to cross the border. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 18:17, December 23, 2021 (EST)
:Since Biden invited illegals in, if a mother and child died of thirst in the Sonora desert 100 miles south of the border, or were murdered by cayotes for not paying a fee, those deaths can also be laid on Biden's doorstep. That's what Democrats call "compassion." [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]]

::What an interesting and such an important subject. You're so right. I'm sure there are so many unknown cases. 2,800 died between 2009-2019 [https://www.animalpolitico.com/2019/03/mexicanos-murieron-frontera-eu/]. Yet:<blockquote>650 deaths on the US border.- Mexico EN 2021, according to organization 1:18 (CNN) - At least 650 people died when trying to cross the border between Mexico and the United States this year, more than any other year since an international body began documenting</blockquote>
[https://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2021/12/09/muertes-migrantes-frontera-mexico-estados-unidos-trax/][[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]])
:::I've been studying this question for much of this year now, and it's hard to back up numbers with good sources, but I'd say 650 on the U.S side sounds very realistic (up from a 280 average over the past 10 years). And it cannot be conclusive, cause we have little or no idea what happens on the Mexican side, which has all the same qualifying factor to account. And the numbers of those forced into human trafficing and sexual slavery could be 10 times as high as what happens to an illegal once they reach the U.S. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 18:39, December 23, 2021 (EST)

==R.T.==
Seen [https://www.wnd.com/2021/11/notorious-dem-rashida-tlaib-grins-talks-dream-release-every-con-federal-prison/ this]?[[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]])
:Yah, this deserves follow up and adding to her bio. Dems are splitting between the "Normal Democrats" and Defunders right now, but Tlaib seems intent on keeping the Defund Police/End Bail/Abolish the Prison Industrial Complex movement alive upto the 2022 elections. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 20:38, November 27, 2021 (EST)

==Qatar==
Qatari hypocrisy - cartoon in Chatlie Hebdo [https://mobile.twitter.com/oritperlov/status/1429773962871984130/photo/1]. Thanks.[[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]])

==New section==
Hi.
Good [https://twitter.com/Forbes/status/1488617503853060101 answer] by McConnell. Regards. Thanks.[[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]])

==AOC image==
Hi Rob. [https://mobile.twitter.com/GPrime85/status/1441136342637944832/photo/1 img] Caption -
"You mean all those poor rockets won't even get a chance to land?" [https://twitter.com/gprime85/status/1441136342637944832 source][[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]])

==Racism images==
Hi Rob. This one relates to the image you uploaded days ago of Time100. The elkurd twins.
[https://i2.wp.com/www.israellycool.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/muna-hitler.png?ssl=1 img]
[https://algulf.net/2021/07/04/palestinian-arab-poster-boy-mohammed-el-kurds-jew-hate-emerges/ source] | This one is about Arab Oakestinisbs" putting up nazi flags near their mosque in Beit Ummar in 2014. [https://www.srugim.co.il/i/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/TAZ1__w200h200q80.jpg img] [https://mobile.srugim.co.il/article/45694 source] | This nazi flag was put up today by Arabs Palestinians in Beit Ummar and was removed by the IDF.
[https://twitter.com/Saher95755738/status/1441784045021671428?s=20 img] [https://m.jpost.com/breaking-news/nazi-flag-taken-down-by-idf-soldiers-in-hebron-680311/amp info][[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]]) 19:55, September 25, 2021 (EDT)
:Ok, sorry, i forgot. You want the AOC image, too, right. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 20:59, September 25, 2021 (EDT)

::OK, got'em all. [https://conservapedia.com/Special:Log/upload] [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 21:12, September 25, 2021 (EDT)
===2022===
:::Another anti-Asian hate crime, and as usual, not by a MAGA guy...
[https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/03/f0f66810-46be-4d22-9ad1-d34973fc3941.jpg image], [https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/17954960/who-is-tammel-esco/amp/ source]. Thanks [[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]])

:[https://www.conservapedia.com/File:Tammel_Esco.PNG Here you go]. I got some theories why these tensions exist between Africans and Asians. I could never prove them to be true, but I think both groups being minorities, are hypersensitive around strangers. They have almost like a sixth sense. Members of one group can "give off vibes" of fear upon seeing a stranger, and the members of the other group are quick to read how receptive strangers are to them. These impressions can happen in a moment, without a word being spoken. And if the strangers receives "negative vibes", they can be quick to violence. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 15:19, March 15, 2022 (EDT)

== [[MediaWiki:Sidebar]] ==

Want to make "New Pages" lowercase as "New pages" (just to be consistent with the capitalization of the other common noun words in the sidebar list)? [[User:Patriotic Gamer|Patriotic Gamer]] ([[User talk:Patriotic Gamer|talk]]) 13:41, August 9, 2021 (EDT)
:Yah. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 02:42, August 10, 2021 (EDT)
::I haven't seen changes take effect yet. [[User:Patriotic Gamer|Patriotic Gamer]] ([[User talk:Patriotic Gamer|talk]]) 08:37, August 10, 2021 (EDT)

== [[Kirby's Dream Land 2]] ==
Is it ok if you undelete this video game article too? I forgot to request it -- thank you [[User:Patriotic Gamer|Patriotic Gamer]] ([[User talk:Patriotic Gamer|talk]]) 08:37, August 10, 2021 (EDT)

== Files for deletion ==

Mind deleting:

*[[:File:Flag of Colombia.jpg]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Colombia.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Flag of the Comoros.jpg]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of the Comoros.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Flag of Hungary.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Hungary.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Flag of Luxembourg.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Luxembourg.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Flag of Monaco.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Monaco.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Medal Law.jpg]] and [[:File:Medal Music.jpg]] (MS Paint-like pictures that probably don't have a practical use)
*[[:File:Maine State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Maine.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Georgia State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of State of Georgia.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Arizona State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Arizona.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Pennsylvania State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Pennsylvania.png|this file]])
*[[:File:South Carolina State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of South Carolina.png|this file]])
*[[:File:North Carolina State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of North Carolina.png|this file]])
*[[:File:New Jersey State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of New Jersey.png|this file]])
*[[:File:11121.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Virginia.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Rhode Island State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Rhode Island.png|this file]])
[[User:Patriotic Gamer|Patriotic Gamer]] ([[User talk:Patriotic Gamer|talk]]) 13:16, August 10, 2021 (EDT)

:Hey, thanks. What a mess, huh? [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 16:28, August 10, 2021 (EDT)

::Yeah I've noticed quite a bit of things needing cleanup around the wiki, including duplicate/low quality unused files. There's more state flags that I haven't listed yet. you forgot to delete [[:File:Medal Music.jpg]] btw [[User:Patriotic Gamer|Patriotic Gamer]] ([[User talk:Patriotic Gamer|talk]]) 16:42, August 10, 2021 (EDT)

:::Thanks for your help, it's much appreciated. That Categorization scheme is all screwed up, so it's difficult to even round up what needs to be deleted. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 16:46, August 10, 2021 (EDT)

::::Yeah, and I have to ask administrators about some of these because some are admin-protected so therefore cannot be tagged. I'll try and see if I can find more [[User:Patriotic Gamer|Patriotic Gamer]] ([[User talk:Patriotic Gamer|talk]]) 16:49, August 10, 2021 (EDT)

::::My guess is 11k of 22k Files are uncategorized. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 16:51, August 10, 2021 (EDT)

Here's some more:

*[[:File:DC flag.jpg]] (duplicate of [[:File:DC flag.GIF|this file]])
*[[:File:2628589070 30f1d23517.jpg]] (doesn't appear to serve any practical purpose)
*[[:File:Capital.jpg]] (file redirect with no links to it)
*[[:File:Vermont State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Vermont.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Wyoming State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Wyoming.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Tennessee State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Tennessee.png|this file]])

[[User:Patriotic Gamer|Patriotic Gamer]] ([[User talk:Patriotic Gamer|talk]]) 17:06, August 10, 2021 (EDT)
:A couple of those still link to pages. 18:41, August 10, 2021 (EDT)
::The DC flag one no longer does. [[User:Patriotic Gamer|Patriotic Gamer]] ([[User talk:Patriotic Gamer|talk]]) 11:11, August 11, 2021 (EDT)

== Deleting short articles ==

Personally, I don't see any harm in short stubs: CP could work at least as a kind of dictionary. But I suppose it is a matter of taste.
Just a request: could you check "what links here" before deleting a page? Thanks! --[[User:AugustO|AugustO]] ([[User talk:AugustO|talk]]) 09:24, August 11, 2021 (EDT)
:Yah, that's what I've been doing, but a few might have slipped past. The problem right now is, much of these pages someone studiously compiled in [[:Category:Dictionary]] are all orphans. And no one has bothered to de-orphan in 10 years. This is an object lesson for all editors: when you create a page, make sure you integrate the page into the whole wiki with a reverse link from at least one other page. Otherwise, it might eventually get deleted. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 09:42, August 11, 2021 (EDT)

== Administrators ==

A couple of days ago, I looked up the [https://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Special:ListUsers&group=sysop list of administrators] (to find someone to convince Andy on a mathematical subject): most of them have stopped contributing before 2012. Do you intend to delete all of their talk-pages and user-pages? Or is there a reason that you singled out User:Joaquin Martinez? It leaves lots of red links behind.... --[[User:AugustO|AugustO]] ([[User talk:AugustO|talk]]) 02:57, August 12, 2021 (EDT)
:That was done on user request, I beleive. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 03:09, August 12, 2021 (EDT)

== More files for deletion ==

*[[:File:Nevada State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Nevada.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Texas State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Texas.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Arkansas State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Arkansas.png|this file]])
*[[:File:California State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of California.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Colorado State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Colorado.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Connecticut State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Connecticut.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Delaware State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Delaware.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Florida State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Florida.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Hawaii State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Hawaii.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Idaho State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Idaho.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Indiana State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Indiana.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Iowa State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Iowa.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Kansas State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Kansas.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Kentucky State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Kentucky.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Louisiana State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Louisiana.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Maryland State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Maryland.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Massachusetts State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Massachusetts.png|this file]], although the GIF needs to be replaced with the PNG duplicate on two admin-protected articles)
*[[:File:Michigan State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Michigan.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Mississippi State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Mississippi.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Missouri State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Missouri.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Montana State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Montana.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Nebraska State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Nebraska.png|this file]])
*[[:File:New Hampshire State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of New Hampshire.png|this file]])
*[[:File:New Mexico State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of New Mexico.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Newyorkflag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of New York.png|this file]])
*[[:File:North Dakota State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of North Dakota.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Ohio State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Ohio.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Oklahoma State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Oklahoma.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Oregon State Flag (Front).gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Oregon.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Oregon State Flag (Back).gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Oregon reverse.png|this file]])
*[[:File:South Dakota State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of South Dakota.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Utah State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Utah.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Washington State Flag.gif]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Washington.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Flag of Wisconsin.png]] (duplicate of [[:File:Wisconsin state flag.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Flag of the Northern Mariana Islands.png]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of the Northern Mariana Islands.svg.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Flag of the United States Virgin Islands.png]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of the United States Virgin Islands.svg.png|this file]])
*[[:File:Flag of Guam.png]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Guam.svg.png|this file]])
*[[:File:DC flag.GIF]] (duplicate of [[:File:Flag of Washington, D.C..png|this file]])

[[User:Patriotic Gamer|Patriotic Gamer]] ([[User talk:Patriotic Gamer|talk]]) 15:27, August 12, 2021 (EDT)
:Thanks! I'll get on it with the next batch. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 15:49, August 12, 2021 (EDT)
::Connecticut's one hasn't been deleted yet (oversight?) and i provided a note for the Massachusetts flag. [[User:Patriotic Gamer|Patriotic Gamer]] ([[User talk:Patriotic Gamer|talk]]) 20:47, August 14, 2021 (EDT)
:::Yah it's on hold for now. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 04:36, August 15, 2021 (EDT)

== In the News ==

::Please add to the Conservapedia headlines how Twitter has suspended Amrullah Saleh but not the Taliban[[https://www.republicworld.com/technology-news/social-media-news/afghanistan-twitter-suspends-accounts-of-amrullah-salehs-office-taliban-still-active.html]].[[User:Bytemsbu|Bytemsbu]] ([[User talk:Bytemsbu|talk]]) 12:10, August 19, 2021 (EDT)
:::I dunno; what is the significnce? Big Tech and Twitter have been working against America and for the Taliban for years now already. 12:18, August 19, 2021 (EDT)
:::Don't you think Biden [[colluding]] with Russia is a bigger story? [https://tass.com/world/1326699] [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 12:25, August 19, 2021 (EDT)

::Well I think it is important given how Amrullah Saleh is the leader of Afghanistan.[[User:Bytemsbu|Bytemsbu]] ([[User talk:Bytemsbu|talk]]) 12:57, August 19, 2021 (EDT)
:::(a) never heard of him (b) is there a single leader? (c) I thought it was [[Mullah Baradar]]. You're not falling for CCP/Big Tech/MSM agitprop to confuse people and take the focus off real issues, are you? [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 13:18, August 19, 2021 (EDT)

:::Baradar is the head of the Taliban not the legitimate Afghan government. But if you feel there are issues more important than this then you don't need to put it. [[User:Bytemsbu|Bytemsbu]] ([[User talk:Bytemsbu|talk]]) 13:31, August 19, 2021 (EDT)

::"legitimate government?" Wow. Wow. And again I say wow. Talk about putting the barndoor before the horse.... [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 13:48, August 19, 2021 (EDT)

::Did I hear you right? Are you referring to a group that shoots women in the street for not wearing burqas, as "legitimate"? Maybe in Twitter world, Anthony Blinken, Joe Biden, a host of Democrats and MSM, but not in the real universe that I personally was born into, or the real universe that God created. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 14:05, August 19, 2021 (EDT)

::My sources say, "[https://uncoverdc.com/2021/08/16/bidens-disastrous-exit-from-afghanistan/ Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani has already relinquished power to an interim government led by Taliban commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar."] What is significant here is, we don't have articles on either Amrullah Saleh or Mullah Baradar, before we go off half-cocked on MSM/Democrat/Biden junta/CCP [[fake news]]. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 15:38, August 19, 2021 (EDT)

==You're a liberal==
Deletion of climate LIBRAL
:Sticks and stones may break my bones, but idiots never hurt me. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 20:12, August 21, 2021 (EDT)

== A request ==

I don't think Conservapedia has in it's manual of style page info on not creating orphan pages.

Since orphan pages are not a good thing and you have mentioned how irritating they are to you, please update our manual of style page. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 00:56, August 23, 2021 (EDT)

:Ok, will do. it kinda goes hand in hand with categorizing, too. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 01:11, August 23, 2021 (EDT)
== Request ==

For [[:File:Guy L. Moser bioguide picture.jpg]], I made the mistake of downloading the direct history.house.gov version to upload rather than Wikimedia Common's improved version. However, if I upload a new cropped version with even a slightly different aspect ratio, everything will likely get messed up. Can you go to the file page and see if you can delete the current file version without deleting the page entirely? Correct me if I'm wrong, but there should be a way to do that in the timestamp table under "File history." Thanks! —[[User:Liberaltears|<code>'''LT'''</code>]]'''''[[User talk:Liberaltears|May D.C., his mother, and I.S. be all well!]]''''' Saturday, 16:19, September 25, 2021 (EDT)
:I see you deleted the file, which still works because I was able to upload a better version in its place successfully; however, was it impossible to only delete the file version without deleting the entire page, even though there was only one file revision? —[[User:Liberaltears|<code>'''LT'''</code>]]'''''[[User talk:Liberaltears|May D.C., his mother, and I.S. be all well!]]''''' Saturday, 16:31, September 25, 2021 (EDT)
:(ec) I dunno if that fixed it. You may have to re-upload as File:Guy L. Moser bioguide picture2 or something. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 16:32, September 25, 2021 (EDT)
::Whoops, pardon my quick reply here which caused an edit conflict. So to clarify, my request was to avoid having to re-upload the file separately under another title. —[[User:Liberaltears|<code>'''LT'''</code>]]'''''[[User talk:Liberaltears|May D.C., his mother, and I.S. be all well!]]''''' Saturday, 16:34, September 25, 2021 (EDT)
== Vaccine mandates and a quote from a Clint Eastwood movie ==

[[Image:Hitler.jpg|thumb|300px|center|[[Adolf Hitler]] was against vaccine mandates!<ref>[https://jacobinmag.com/2021/09/vaccine-mandates-covid-pandemic-german-nazi-inoculation-policy You Know Who Else Opposed Vaccine Mandates? Hitler.]</ref> ]]
{{clear}}
[[File:Washington-deleware.jpg|thumbnail|600px|center|General [[George Washington]] ordered [[smallpox]] inoculations for all troops.<ref>[https://health.mil/News/Articles/2021/08/16/Gen-George-Washington-Ordered-Smallpox-Inoculations-for-All-Troops General George Washington Ordered [[Smallpox]] Inoculations for All Troops]</ref>
 
 
"I have right to a lawYEEER!" - the killer Scorpio in the 1971 movie ''Dirty Harry'' which featured [[Clint Eastwood]].<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066999/characters/nm0000142 Dirty Harry (1971)]</ref>
 
 
Apparently, George Washington's troops didn't have ready access to legal counsel concerning their innoculations or they thought they had weak cases. Or consider this radical thought: His troops thought their responsibility to get vaccinated against smallpox trumped any potential right they had to not get vaccinated.]]
{{clear}}
[[File:Donald Trump and Jesus is King sign.jpg|center|thumbnail|400px|A quick note to [[conservative]], Republican [[Donald Trump]] supporters who are against Covid-19 vaccines: Donald J. Trump launched [[Operation Warp Speed]] which helped cause Covid-19 vaccines be developed in a speedy fashion. Put that in your anti Covid-19 vaccine pipes and smoke it!
 
 
Donald Trump and [[Melania Trump]] were both vaccinated with a Covid-19 vaccine with no apparent catastrophic effects!<ref>[https://www.deseret.com/2021/4/23/22399234/former-president-donald-trump-americans-coronavirus-vaccine-obama-bush-clinton-carter Former President Donald Trump tells Americans to get the coronavirus vaccine, calls it a ‘true miracle’]</ref>
 
 
Serious side effects that could cause a long-term health problem are extremely unlikely following any vaccination, including COVID-19 vaccination. Vaccine monitoring has historically shown that side effects generally happen within six weeks of receiving a vaccine dose.<ref>[https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/safety-of-vaccines.html#:~:text=Serious%20side%20effects%20that%20could,receiving%20a%20vaccine%20dose. Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines]</ref> See also: [https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/coronavirus-long-term-effects/art-20490351 Long haul Covid-19 - Mayo Clinic]
 
 
For more information, please see: [https://conservapedia.com/User:Conservative/Sports,_exercise_and_diet#Coronavirus_prevention.2C_info_and_treatments Coronavirus prevention, Covid-19 vaccines, treatments and general information] ]]
:Yah, Hitler was against smoking, too. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 04:10, September 30, 2021 (EDT)
:(A) Donald Trump ordered a vaccine, not a genetic experiment. (B) mRNA experiments are not a vaccine. (C) The CDC changed the definition of vaccine in August 2021. (D) Dr. Anthony Fauci did not inform President Trump that [[SARS-CoV-2]] was not a naturally occurring virus and was created in a laboratory at the time of President Trump's approval of Warp Speed. (E) We still await the arrival of a vaccine, and the results of the illegal genetic experiments. However, the science has become so politicized, it's impossible to put a timeframe on expectations. Simply because Trump was deceived by the CCP, WHO, and Dr. Fauci is your weakest argument to have confidence in genetic experiments carrying the misnomer of a vaccine. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 04:48, September 30, 2021 (EDT)
:(E) And your use of MSM & govt propaganda regarding George Washington is flawed. That was [https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/smallpox/sp_variolation.html variolation], not vaccination. Variolation is taking material {scabs} directly from an infected person and infecting another person. Your cited source uses the word inoculation; the alleged covid vaccines fail to inoculate, witness [[breakthrough case]]s. A vaccine is the actual virus itself, measured out in doses to fit a person's age and body weight. The mRNA spiked protein is invented in a laboratory and is not a synthetic reproduction of the SARS CoV-19 virus. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 07:19, September 30, 2021 (EDT)
::I think we should largely agree to disagree.

::I do know that you are incorrect about some basic facts.

::For example, vaccines commonly are not 100% effective and thus have some breakthrough cases. "Even the measles vaccine, which is incredibly effective, fails to protect about 3 percent of vaccinated individuals who are exposed to the virus. Jonas Salk's polio vaccine—hailed a medical miracle—was 80 percent to 90 percent effective at preventing paralysis caused by the polio virus. Breakthrough infections of flu are even more common. While the exact effectiveness of the flu vaccine fluctuates year-to-year, it ranges between 40 percent and 60 percent."[https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/six-important-things-know-about-breakthrough-infections-180978408/]

::In addition, even in the case of breakthrough cases of coronavirus, a person's morbidity rate will be lower than if they were not inoculated against the disease.[[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 12:31, September 30, 2021 (EDT)

:::Well, we can resolve much of this by understanding what a vaccine is. Vaccines are measured doses of the virus itself to induce an immunological reaction. It should be obvious by now that covid so-called "vaccines" do no such thing. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 14:33, September 30, 2021 (EDT)
{{clear}}
=== Notes ===
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

== Uighur Genocide Article ==

:How do you propose that we start the article?[[User:Bytemsbu|Bytemsbu]] ([[User talk:Bytemsbu|talk]]) 20:26, October 3, 2021 (EDT)

::[https://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Special%3ASearch&profile=advanced&search=%22Uyghur+genocide%22&fulltext=Search&ns0=1&ns1=1&ns2=1&ns3=1&ns4=1&ns5=1&ns6=1&ns7=1&ns8=1&ns9=1&ns10=1&ns11=1&ns12=1&ns13=1&ns14=1&ns15=1&ns120=1&ns121=1&ns122=1&ns123=1&ns124=1&ns125=1&ns126=1&ns127=1&profile=advanced Here's all the pages that use the term.] In the China article, we have three different subsections that touch on it, [[China#East_Turkestan_.28Xinjiang.29]], [[China#Uyghurs_and_Muslims]], and [[China#Uyghur_genocide]]. I suggest we begin with the cite in [https://conservapedia.com/China#cite_note-183 footnote 183] from the Uyghur genocide subsection for the Intro, and consolidate information from the other two subsections to eliminate redundancy.

::Also, after laying out the case for genocide in the main body, then include a second section on Forced labor and re-education, which technically may be considered a separate issue from [[genocide]], and eventually can be made into a single article as well, with information collected in a Uyghur genocide page. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 20:51, October 3, 2021 (EDT)

::I named the article as East Turkestani genocide due to it including not just Uighurs but all Turkic peoples.[[User:Bytemsbu|Bytemsbu]] ([[User talk:Bytemsbu|talk]]) 21:16, October 3, 2021 (EDT)

== Category move request ==

Hi RobSmith, can you please move Category:Old Guard (The South) to "Category:Old Republicans (The South)" without leaving a redirect? When I created the category, it had been a while since I read a hard cover of ''The End of Southern Exceptionalism'', and now realizing that I can just access it via Google Books and even [https://books.google.com/books?id=tiNYRu5rvVgC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=old&f=false search for key terms], I likely confused the term used in the book with something else.

Thanks! —[[User:Liberaltears|<code>'''LT'''</code>]]'''''[[User talk:Liberaltears|May D.C., his mother, and I.S. be all well!]]''''' Saturday, 22:43, October 29, 2021 (EDT)

== YOU ARE A RADICAL ABORTIONIST ==

YOU DISGUST ME!!! YOU THINK ABORTION ISNT MURDER. GET A LIFE AND GO BACK TO LIBERAL WIKIPEDIA!! IM REFERING TO WHEN YOU REMOVED MY EDITS FROM PRAMILLA JAYAPAL!!! SHE MURDERED HUMAN AND YOU SUPPORT THAT DISGUSTING {{unsigned|Superbanana}}

== Conservative Of The Year 2021 ==

Hello,

It starting to get close towards the end of the year. Should Conservapedia create the Conservative Of The Year, 2021 page? Also, I think it might be interesting if Conservapedia created a RINO Of The Year.--[[User:TheNewRight|TheNewRight]] ([[User talk:TheNewRight|talk]]) 14:22, November 4, 2021 (EDT)
:I think there is a page already started, but I don't have a link yet. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 01:44, November 5, 2021 (EDT)
::The Conservative Of The Year, 2021 page does not appear to have been made yet. Could I be given permission to make the page?--[[User:TheNewRight|TheNewRight]] ([[User talk:TheNewRight|talk]]) 18:35, November 17, 2021 (EST)
:::Sure. Please pattern it after the previous year's pages with the appropriate catgorization, etc. If another already exists and found later, we can merge it. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 18:38, November 17, 2021 (EST)
::::Could you give me the power to create new pages? I cannot create new pages.--[[User:TheNewRight|TheNewRight]] ([[User talk:TheNewRight|talk]]) 18:36, November 18, 2021 (EST)
:::::Do you have SkipCapthca? [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 19:09, November 18, 2021 (EST)
::::::I do not think I do.--[[User:TheNewRight|TheNewRight]] ([[User talk:TheNewRight|talk]]) 21:52, November 18, 2021 (EST)
:::::::Never mind I do have SkipCaptcha. How would I go about crating a page. I cannot figure out how to create one.--[[User:TheNewRight|TheNewRight]] ([[User talk:TheNewRight|talk]]) 21:54, November 18, 2021 (EST)
::::::::Do you know how to activate your user page? [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 21:56, November 18, 2021 (EST)
::::::::According to your contribs, [https://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Talk:List_of_Former_Tea_Party_Supporters_Who_Have_Become_RINOs_or_Never_Trumpers&diff=1685562&oldid=1683587 you created this page right here.] [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 22:00, November 18, 2021 (EST)
:::::::::I was able to create the page! Thank you for your help!--[[User:TheNewRight|TheNewRight]] ([[User talk:TheNewRight|talk]]) 23:24, November 18, 2021 (EST)

== Conservative is doxxing others ==

In [[Essay:_A_reply_to_some_desperate_secular_liberals/leftists_who_pulled_out_the_race_card_and_unsuccessfully_tried_to_compare_me_to_Klansmen#10_point_to_do_list_and_considerations_concerning_potential_defamation_lawsuit_or_lawsuits_2|this recent essay of his]], the fifth point in that particular subsection is publicly revealing private information about others. Can you delete the essay, since I don't have deletion powers? Thanks. —[[User:Liberaltears|<code>'''LT'''</code>]]'''''[[User talk:Liberaltears|May D.C., his mother, and I.S. be all well!]]''''' Sunday, 13:37, November 7, 2021 (EST)
::Yah I saw. I initiated a private discussion. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 15:04, November 7, 2021 (EST)
:::Shouldn't those types of inappropriate postings simply be nuked on the spot? It doesn't matter who inserts such information, as they should not be allowed to remain on the site, period. —[[User:Liberaltears|<code>'''LT'''</code>]]'''''[[User talk:Liberaltears|May D.C., his mother, and I.S. be all well!]]''''' Sunday, 15:07, November 7, 2021 (EST)
:::Also, thanks for removing the link to the essay from MPR. —[[User:Liberaltears|<code>'''LT'''</code>]]'''''[[User talk:Liberaltears|May D.C., his mother, and I.S. be all well!]]''''' Sunday, 15:08, November 7, 2021 (EST)
:::::(ec) Yes, for registered users, but an Admin should be given the opportunity to correct the error. I did remove the link from MPR to the doxxing page. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 15:10, November 7, 2021 (EST)
:::::This reminds much of another unnamed former Admin: he just likes pressing buttons to nuke his enemies because he can and doesn't think before hand. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 15:13, November 7, 2021 (EST)
::::::Conservative has demonstrated himself to continuously make inappropriate postings and often times stubbornly refuse to admit he's wrong. He's been given enough chances. —[[User:Liberaltears|<code>'''LT'''</code>]]'''''[[User talk:Liberaltears|May D.C., his mother, and I.S. be all well!]]''''' Sunday, 15:13, November 7, 2021 (EST)
:::::::They think being an Admin is just a game of Space Invaders and they can nuke their opponents by pressing a button. This is why I advocated for bureaucrat powers to teach them the proper role of an Admin. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 15:15, November 7, 2021 (EST

== Trevor Noah ==

I think [[Trevor Noah]] is very famous liberal comedian. in article I showed his double standards for his views on police brutality in USA and South Africa. I wish you to show the article again, and thank you --[[User:Alex Kosh|Alex Kosh]] ([[User talk:Alex Kosh|talk]]) 16:33, November 7, 2021 (EST)
:I recreated the page. It needs to be brought up to encyclopedic standards. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 19:22, November 7, 2021 (EST)

== Please delete the two revisions left by a recent vandal ==

[[Special:Contributions/PerterKabangsLT|Please hide the content, username and edit summaries for those diffs ASAP.]] Thanks. —[[User:Liberaltears|<code>'''LT'''</code>]]'''''[[User talk:Liberaltears|(TALK PAGE]] | [[Special:Contributions/Liberaltears|CONTRIBUTIONS)]]''''' Friday, 21:59, November 18, 2021 (EST)
:User:Conservative is more skilled at deleting whole talk pages like that than I am. I might leave it for him. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 22:04, November 18, 2021 (EST)
::I believe you've deleted revisions before. Don't administrator duties include the deletion of diffs left by inappropriate edits? —[[User:Liberaltears|<code>'''LT'''</code>]]'''''[[User talk:Liberaltears|(TALK PAGE]] | [[Special:Contributions/Liberaltears|CONTRIBUTIONS)]]''''' Friday, 22:08, November 18, 2021 (EST)
:::I don't want to make the wrong deletion, and I believe he's more skilled at it. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 22:12, November 18, 2021 (EST)
::::In case you haven't yet noticed, Conservative frivolously deletes perfectly fine diffs while declining to delete inappropriate revisions most of the time. Do you actually expect him to carry out administrator duties after all the times he's abused them? —[[User:Liberaltears|<code>'''LT'''</code>]]'''''[[User talk:Liberaltears|(TALK PAGE]] | [[Special:Contributions/Liberaltears|CONTRIBUTIONS)]]''''' Friday, 22:15, November 18, 2021 (EST)
:::::Someday we'll make you boss, and you can handle all these weighty decisions. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 23:30, November 18, 2021 (EST)

== Quick Question ==

Hey, Rob. Hope you’re doing well. I was wondering if you could tell me if I have the ability to apply files, such as pictures and such, to articles on here? I have tried a few times to add pictures to the pages I’ve already created. Also, how do you think I’m doing with making pages and editing? Thanks in advance and have a great [[Thanksgiving]]! -[[User:SteKelBry|SteKelBry]] ([[User talk:SteKelBry|talk]]) 14:45, November 23, 2021 (EST)

:Place image upload requests here: [[Conservapedia:Image upload requests]]. As to editing, it looks pretty good, with the exception of uncited editorial comments such as these [https://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Derek_Chauvin&diff=prev&oldid=1762732][https://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Derek_Chauvin&diff=prev&oldid=1773759], which make you look like a subversive Democrat trying to play the [[race card]]. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 15:28, November 23, 2021 (EST)

::Thanks, and my apologies for that. I’ve since learned that I shouldn’t submit personal opinions such as those. I hope I can put that mishap behind me so I can further contribute to Conservapedia. God Bless and Happy Thanksgiving! -[[User:SteKelBry|SteKelBry]] ([[User talk:SteKelBry|talk]]) 15:48, November 23, 2021 (EST)

:::Well, that's good to hear. Cuz even if you are or were a subversive Democrat, that tired old stale stuff gets pretty insulting after a while, as if we're too stupid to see it or notice it. You need to become more sophisticated in your use of dogwhistles and subversion. Good luck. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 16:05, November 23, 2021 (EST)

== Another category move request ==

Hi RobSmith, can you please move [[:Category:Half-Breeds]] to [[:Category:Half-Breeds (Republican Party)]]? Thanks! —[[User:Liberaltears|<code>'''LT'''</code>]] '''''[[User talk:Liberaltears|(The Old Right was right!)]]''''' Friday, 14:55, November 26, 2021 (EST)

== Please don't plagiarize my work ==

Pertaining to most of the block of text you added [[Mask_mandate#Laws_for_thee_but_not_for_me|here]], it appears you outright copy/pasted it from my [[Salongate]] article. —[[User:Liberaltears|<code>'''LT'''</code>]] '''''[[User talk:Liberaltears|(The Old Right was right!)]]''''' Sunday, 16:56, November 28, 2021 (EST)
:[https://conservapedia.com/Conservapedia:Copyright By contributing information to Conservapedia, you irrevocably consent to the display, copying, reuse or editing of your information, edits and entries, with or without attribution. You agree to waive and indemnify this and all affiliated sponsors, editors, users, or sites from claims for liability resulting from use, by you, of the content contained herein. This is a binding legal document. By using this site you agree to be bound by it.]
:[[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 17:01, November 28, 2021 (EST)
::Even if CP allows it, plagiarizing is not a good practice. I don't think readers want to see the exact same block of text in multiple articles. Can you at least re-write it in your own words? —[[User:Liberaltears|<code>'''LT'''</code>]] '''''[[User talk:Liberaltears|(The Old Right was right!)]]''''' Sunday, 17:04, November 28, 2021 (EST)
:::Well, edit it then. As an Admin, you need to know these things.
:::Granted, the phrase "your information" may need to be amended, being that it may now have an ambiguous or diferent meaning (related to doxxing) that was not commonly or popularly known at the time that version of the policy was written. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 17:07, November 28, 2021 (EST)
:::And your understanding or use of the term "plagiarizing" is incorrect, given the copyright policy, which you have agreed to, nullifies making any such claim. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 17:11, November 28, 2021 (EST)
:::WP:OWN, or [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Ownership_of_content Ownership of content] may be helpful before you employ such language as "my Salongate article." [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 17:17, November 28, 2021 (EST)

:::As I've said 10,000 times, being an Admin isn't about pressing buttons to nuke your enemies. It's about educating and helping users and Admins become better editors and Admins. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 17:21, November 28, 2021 (EST)

:::Let's take [https://conservapedia.com/File:McGowan_Harris_Clinton_Giuffre.PNG this tweet, for example, copypasted from Wikipedia] and tweeted to Kamala Harris by [[Rose McGowan]]. I wrote most of that text (which now has minor edits), but have no claim of plagiarism or ownership of it. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 17:32, November 28, 2021 (EST)

== Please check your email ==

Thanks. —[[User:Liberaltears|<code>'''LT'''</code>]] '''''[[User talk:Liberaltears|(The Old Right was right!)]]''''' Monday, 23:23, November 28, 2021 (EST)

== I made some improvements to Conservapedia's blocking policy page ==

Rob, I made some improvements to Conservapedia's blocking policy page

You can see the changes at: [[Conservapedia:Blocking policy]]

Also, I made some minor improvements to this page: [[Conservapedia:Guidelines]] at the [https://conservapedia.com/Conservapedia:Guidelines#Conservapedia.27s_blocking_policy_for_editors_of_the_wiki Conservapedia's blocking policy for editors of the wiki] section.

Generally speaking, given human nature (see: [[Fall of man]]), wikis are more prone to heavy-handed blocking than to too lenient blocking. The Bible refers to the authoritarian aspect of human nature once people have power. For example, "But Jesus called them to Himself and said, 'You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.'" (Matthew 20:25-26). [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 06:57, November 29, 2021 (EST)

== Main page right ==

As your request, I removed the main page right item. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 02:06, December 2, 2021 (EST)

== quick note ==

Do you reinstall Skype? [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 07:22, December 12, 2021 (EST)
:yah, give it a try. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 07:24, December 12, 2021 (EST)
::It says you are not online. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 07:26, December 12, 2021 (EST)
:::Sign into Skype. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 07:26, December 12, 2021 (EST)
::::Are you signed into Skype? [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 07:28, December 12, 2021 (EST)
:::::I'm in as HJ. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 07:29, December 12, 2021 (EST)
Then call me. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 07:31, December 12, 2021 (EST)
:It says PM is not online. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 07:33, December 12, 2021 (EST)

== Another Quick Question ==

Hi, Rob. Hope you’re doing well. Based on my contributions these past few months, do you think I have the qualities to be an Administrator on here one day? Hopefully soon, I can earn access to photo upload privileges so I won’t have to bug you about adding photos to the pages I create, haha. Thanks in advance and have a great Christmas. -[[User:SteKelBry|SteKelBry]] ([[User talk:SteKelBry|talk]]) 19:00, December 17, 2021 (EST)
:Sorry, I have no say in that at all. Those decisions are made by the boss. It's probably been 10 years or more since a new Admin was created. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 19:07, December 17, 2021 (EST)

== Kathy Hochul ==

Why do you add Satanists category to [[Kathy Hochul]]? --[[User:Alex Kosh|Alex Kosh]] ([[User talk:Alex Kosh|talk]]) 17:34, December 23, 2021 (EST)
:I think the answer is in the two sentence text: "Hochul claims the coronavirus vaccine is from God and that people aren’t listening to God, so she needs them to be her ‘apostles’ to go out and spread the vaccine." (It's obvious this racist scumbag is speaking to what the atheist left consider superstitious God-fearing and God-believing African Americans in the traditional Marxist and Satanic [[sociopath]]ic manipulation of Black voters). But you have a point; perhaps the Category should not have been created or perhaps the Category needs some discussion to keep it.

:I would argue however, if the decision is to keep the Category, this crossing-the-line of [[separation of church and state]] by an elected official to manipulate vulnerable and oppressed people certainly qualifies as Satanic. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 17:45, December 23, 2021 (EST)

:And we know for a fact the coronavirus is not from God, it came from God-hating Satanists and idolators like Anthony Fauci and the Chinese Communist Party. If that's not proof of another Satanic lie from the pit of hell by a white Democrat, what is? [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 17:55, December 23, 2021 (EST)

::''people aren’t listening to God, so she needs them to be her ‘apostles’ ''
::Is Hochel, like Anthony Fauci, claiming to be God? or the Way, the Truth, and the Life? [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 18:01, December 23, 2021 (EST)
:::Attaboy. Let it all out. [[User:ConwayIII|ConwayIII]] ([[User talk:ConwayIII|talk]]) 18:31, December 23, 2021 (EST)
::::Let's not lose focus, the question is over creating and keeping certain categories. On a more philosophical plane however, an agnostic certainly would have a measure of deniability for engaging in Satanic activities, whereas atheists, their cohorts and supporters are more less indefensible. Go ahead, please, try justifying an atheist and Satanic position to a God-fearing African American. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 18:53, December 23, 2021 (EST)
::::Hochel, in her own words, is belittling and mocking African Americas for believing in God and not accepting the gospel of [[Faucism]]. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 19:54, December 23, 2021 (EST)
::::We have the same phenomena in the UK, where the Archbishop of Canterbury said [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yzva0Wrs8Os 'Jesus would take the vaccine'.] [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 20:01, December 23, 2021 (EST)
:::::Defeating parodists by making them redundant is quite the flex, man. You wouldn't believe the amount of money Soros recently offered to try & get the band back together, but it was agreed round the table that your stuff just couldn't be topped. [[User:ConwayIII|ConwayIII]] ([[User talk:ConwayIII|talk]]) 20:19, December 23, 2021 (EST)
::::::Truth is like the coronavirus, its spread cannot be stopped despite the best efforts of men. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 20:38, December 23, 2021 (EST)
:::::::Dang. [https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/12/23/trump-appeals-supreme-court-dispute-over-jan-6-documents/8892937002/ God loves a trier, though, right?] [[User:ConwayIII|ConwayIII]] ([[User talk:ConwayIII|talk]]) 21:29, December 23, 2021 (EST)
::::::::Too bad the [[J6 panel]] is illegal. The House Resolution that created it requires 13 members and 6 appoint by Kevin McCarthy, which never happened. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 21:35, December 23, 2021 (EST)

:: I dont agree with her vaccine policy, but sorry that doesnt make her a Satanist or even Atheist. I would like to see reliable sources instead of personal conclusions to prove that she is Satanist. --[[User:Alex Kosh|Alex Kosh]] ([[User talk:Alex Kosh|talk]]) 22:20, December 23, 2021 (EST)
:::It's her own words. If she's not claiming to be God herself, she engaged in some sickening racist pandering. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 23:21, December 23, 2021 (EST)

:::Wait wait wait. Is the argument now, "Sure, racism is bad, but it's not as bad as being a Satanist?" [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 23:23, December 23, 2021 (EST)

:::: No I want to see reliable source prove that she is satanist. Blasphemy doesnt make her Satanist --[[User:Alex Kosh|Alex Kosh]] ([[User talk:Alex Kosh|talk]]) 23:41, December 23, 2021 (EST)

:::::Blasphemy makes her a child of God? Racism makes here a child of God? (Blacks certainly would be interested in hearing that).

:::::Unfortunately, God doesn't really provide neutral space for agnostics. That's purely a human construct. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 23:46, December 23, 2021 (EST)

:::::[https://healthimpactnews.com/2021/n-y-governor-kathy-hochuls-god-is-satan-preaches-at-nyc-church-and-proudly-displays-the-mark-of-the-beast/ N.Y. Governor Kathy Hochul’s “God” is Satan – Preaches at NYC Church and Proudly Displays the “Mark of the Beast”]
:::::Let's not leave it at that - let's dissect her words a little further....
{{quotebox|"I prayed a lot to God during this time.

And you know what? God did answer our prayers. '''He made the smartest men and women, the scientists, the doctors, the researchers, he made them come up with a vaccine.'''

That is from God to us. And we must say, “Thank you, God. Thank you.”

And I wear my vaccinated necklace all the time to to say “I’m vaccinated.”

All of you. Yes, I know '''you’re vaccinated. You’re the smart ones."'''}}
:And how does God answer all this?
:*''Pride goeth before destruction''
:*''He catcheth the crafty in their own craftiness
:*''God has chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise
::I could go on... [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 00:03, December 24, 2021 (EST)
:*''I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
:*[https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Flattery 34 Bible Verses about Flattery]
:Maybe flattery works on liberals and Satanists, but to a child of God it's a red flag. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 00:09, December 24, 2021 (EST)
:Then we have to consider the fact that she spoke these words in the midst of the congregation.... [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 00:09, December 24, 2021 (EST)
:Her pitch sounds a bit more like Pharoah calling upon Jannes and Jambres. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 00:13, December 24, 2021 (EST)

:Please, don't take my judgement on the matter. Let's look at some of the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXaP76musWM 2,000+ comments on her words in Youtube] (I know, I know, Youtube just hasn't gotten around to blocking them yet).
:*"God told me not to listen to false prophets. - 793 Likes
:*“Now let me tell you how God loves abortion.” Gov. Hochul. - 798 Likes
:None of this is surprising, Democrat officials have mouthing this kinda Satanic BS for decades.
:*"It's so cringe worthy when self serving politicians invoke the name of god. - 790 Likes
::*Rob's comment: No, Donald Trump is not self serving. You miss the qualifier.
:*"This is what a cult leader sounds like. - 797 Likes
:*"Unbelievable level of evil. To stand in "church" and commit blasphemy. To promote a shot that is killing people worldwide. The audacity of these people is astounding. They WILL answer to God for their sins.
:Yah, does she really listen to the voters? [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 00:45, December 24, 2021 (EST)
:Personally, when I hear someone like this talk, I can only scratch my head and say, "What the hell is wrong with people in New York to elect someone like this?" [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 00:48, December 24, 2021 (EST)
:What a way to burst onto the national scene. Does she, or any professional media consultant, think she can ever rescind this level of stupidity, ignorance, and outright insulting comments? Ever?
:Maybe this crap flies in New York, but name one, just one, New York politician between FDR & Trump who made it on the national scene? And the reason for that is, New Yorkers consider people like Hochel, AOC, Schumer, Nadler, Gillibrand, Cuomo, De Blasio etc etc etc as "leaders" and representatives of themselves. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 03:01, December 24, 2021 (EST)

:: I checked the link that you share but is also its personal conclusion not reliable source. What she said speaks her foolishness lower IQ, and she made big mistake for using religion to convince people to take the vaccine. but again that doesnt make her necessarily a Satanist. a Satanist mean worshiper of Satan, is there any proof that she worship Satan, I didnt see that. --[[User:Alex Kosh|Alex Kosh]] ([[User talk:Alex Kosh|talk]]) 22:21, December 24, 2021 (EST)-
:::No, you are dead wrong. Most servants of Satan are so deceived by the father of lies, they do not know they are serving Satan. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 23:35, December 24, 2021 (EST)
:::There are numerous examples, both from the bible and in everyday life to verify this. For example, what could be more Satanic than an atheist, many of whom deny that the spirit world and Satan exists? That proves the level of so-called "self-deception", which really is Satanic deception. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 23:38, December 24, 2021 (EST)

: The Encyclopedias should rely on reliable sources, not personal conclusions. does the other administrators agree with that? --[[User:Alex Kosh|Alex Kosh]] ([[User talk:Alex Kosh|talk]]) 00:33, December 25, 2021 (EST)
::Ask em. Personally, I can't think of a one that would defend a Satanist. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 02:41, December 25, 2021 (EST)
::She supports abortion, doesn't she? I doubt anyone here in CP management thinks a child of God supports abortion (I could be wrong). And I doubt anyone thinks there's a grey area where one can be both. But I don't know. Anyways, it's a debate I wouldn't hesitate to engage in. You can always create a debate page on that subject, either Hochul individually or [[Debate:Can an abortion supporter also be a child of God?]] [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 02:46, December 25, 2021 (EST)

::What you need to realize here is, Hochul stepped into one big pile of doggie-doodoo with her stupid, off the cuff, Satanic remarks inside a church during a church service. And there is no way out for her other than repentance and baptism. And if it takes New York Democrats to wish Andrew Cuomo was back, so be it. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 02:55, December 25, 2021 (EST)

:: For Abortion we can add [[:Category:Abortion Advocates]] instead of [[:Category:Satanists]]. and also if she support Abortion that doesnt make her Satanist. Satanist is big insult, We can't accuse anyone we don't like of being Satanic. and do you really think abortion supporter is Satanist?, maybe you dont many figures support abortion including the conservative ones like [[Tomi Lahren]], [[Rudy Giuliani]] and [[Margaret Thatcher]]. president Trump formerly was supporter of abortion, is he former Satanist?. --[[User:Alex Kosh|Alex Kosh]] ([[User talk:Alex Kosh|talk]]) 19:29, December 25, 2021 (EST)
:::Satanism is an insult? I've never met the Satanist yet who wasn't proud of being in rebellion against God. Children of God are not afraid of the devil, they have been set free. Only sinners cower before the devil. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 23:06, December 25, 2021 (EST)
:::: OK so does Hochul ever stated she is Satanist? --[[User:Alex Kosh|Alex Kosh]] ([[User talk:Alex Kosh|talk]]) 23:39, December 25, 2021 (EST)
:::::*''They speak lies to one another; They speak with flattering lips and a double heart.'' Ps. 12:2
:::::*''with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.'' Rm. 3:13-15
::::::I think it's obvious which side she's on. She spoke her words in church. She should have saved it for Don Lemon or NBC. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 23:59, December 25, 2021 (EST)
::::::Now, we can break it down (for example, '' Their feet are swift to shed blood'' can be laid at the doorstep of her predecessor Andrew Cuomo and the nursing home crisis, and I don't know her involvement, but what is she doing to bring Cuomo and other conspirators to justice?) ''Their is no fear of God before their eyes'' - why did she speak such blasphemies before a the congregation in church? What interests me most is ''Whose mouth is full of cursing'' because this is a twofer related to ''flattery''; she flatters her followers with ''you are the smart ones'', while cursing the stupid unvaccinated. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 00:09, December 26, 2021 (EST)

:: I need reliable source to prove that she is Satanist, this is simple. if there are no source, so you should delete category from article --[[User:Alex Kosh|Alex Kosh]] ([[User talk:Alex Kosh|talk]]) 19:31, December 25, 2021 (EST)
:::Her sources are her own mouth. It's no different than Fauci claiming to be God ("I am Truth"). [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 23:06, December 25, 2021 (EST)

:::: I didnt saw any sources, I am only saw personal conclusions. --[[User:Alex Kosh|Alex Kosh]] ([[User talk:Alex Kosh|talk]]) 23:42, December 25, 2021 (EST)
:::::In sending out her 'apostles', she implies the unvaccinated are in rebellion against God, i.e. Satanists. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 00:27, December 26, 2021 (EST)

: In order to prove what you are saying, you either have to bring a source that admits that she is a Satanist from her mouth, or another source that proves that she is performing Satanic rituals
:Other than this, your words are nothing but personal conclusions and conspiracy theory and may harm the reputation of this encyclopedia. --[[User:Alex Kosh|Alex Kosh]] ([[User talk:Alex Kosh|talk]]) 01:05, December 27, 2021 (EST)
::It's no big deal. Anyone in rebellion against God is a Satanist, which is the vast majority of people on planet earth. Only those in rebellion against God fear Satan, or think it's a big insult. It's not. Satan is who their boss is and who they serve. It is not even a case of outing a Satanist in the closet - by their works ye shall know them. Was Christ a liar when he said that? [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 02:47, December 27, 2021 (EST)
{{quotebox|"there’s people out there who aren’t listening to God and what God wants."}}
::Now, there's people out there who aren't listening to Anthony Fauci, who claims to be God ("to attack me is to attack Truth"), and what Fauci wants. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 05:07, December 27, 2021 (EST)

:: I dont think Jesus asked you to add Satanist Category to Kathy Hochul article. again you are going too far by this stubbornness by bringing Bible verse. Bible didnt prove she is Satanist. also I dont think Jesus would like us to make assumptions to other people without reliable source even if they are our enemy. I dont like anyone to make assumption to me, I am also dont make any assumption to other people without reliable source. Assumption is a characteristic of liberals against their enemies (read [[Meena Harris]] story), but we must be better than them. --[[User:Alex Kosh|Alex Kosh]] ([[User talk:Alex Kosh|talk]]) 18:41, December 27, 2021 (EST)

:::I'm going too far? She's the one claiming the unvaccinated don't listen to her god, Dr. Fauci. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 18:44, December 27, 2021 (EST)

:::Before It's News: [https://beforeitsnews.com/new-world-order/2021/10/new-york-governor-kathy-hochul-is-an-evil-satanic-witch-who-claims-to-speak-for-god-and-says-vaccines-are-a-gift-from-god-no-not-unless-it-is-the-faslse-god-lucifer-pure-blashemy-truly-dispicabl-10443.html New York Governor Kathy Hochul is an Evil Satanic Witch, Who Claims to Speak For GOD and Says Vaccines Are a Gift From GOD. No, Not Unless it is the Faslse god Lucifer. Pure Blashemy- Truly Dispicable]. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 18:46, December 27, 2021 (EST)

== Russia is a place where one can have a good life, but they are still overcoming their past ==

Everyone once in a while, I watch a documentary. I watched this documentary: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxpEsBqliEQ Love in Russia].

Russian society is traditional in some ways, but I am sure that 70+ years of godless communism has had its effect on society.

But people with Christian values are having kids and the irreligious/nonreligious are not, so things can gradually get better. Time will tell. I think in the next 12 years or so, there will be a global recession, so that will cause a lot of problems. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 01:14, December 24, 2021 (EST)
:I let a homeless lady from Russia stay at my place for about 2 weeks. I learned more about Russia.

:The USA should try to have better relations with Russia. Trump tried to do this.

:By the way, I bailed out of the documentary at the 30 minute point. It dealt with the 3% of Russian society that are freaks. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 01:25, December 24, 2021 (EST)
::So I watched the documentary all the way thru. These kids these days, wudayagonnado? [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 06:48, December 24, 2021 (EST)
::I don't know if you're familiar with [[Pelageya]], probably one of the greatest vocalists alive today. She's sings Cossack (or Kazakh) warrior songs. This is nothing new, Russia has longtime (even in Czarist times) been a nation of widows and orphans, cause it is a warrior culture, having so many borders to defend, or absorbing so many smaller nations and tribes into it. Even Pelageya has no idea who her father is. So what the DW documentary reports really has not emerged since the collapse of USSR. The aftermath of WWII was just another time when Russia again was a nation of widows. And many of the songs Pelageya sings are about the warrior dying on the battlefield and thinking about his wife. Once you grasp these songs go back hundreds of years, you can get a great insight into Russian culture. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 07:04, December 24, 2021 (EST)

=== This is what I was referring to above ===

[[File:04656 market in Sanok.JPG|thumbnail|200px|center|[[Alcoholism]] was a serious social problem in the former atheistic [[Soviet Union]].[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18245818] Between 1940 and 1980, this [[atheist state]] had the largest increase of the amount of alcohol usage in the developed world.[http://isw.sagepub.com/content/35/4/441.extract] ]]
{{clear}}
It's too bad that Russia chose atheistic communism for so many decades. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 01:32, December 24, 2021 (EST)
:I have to admit, my appreciation and love of Russian society and culture has come a long way in the past 25-30 years. What went unreported in the West, it was the Church more than anything that caused the demise of Soviet Communism.
:Despite what Soviet communism did to Russian culture - and you are absolutely correct the damage was serious and longlasting - IMO a typical Russian of average intelligence, education, and maybe even with fetal alcohol syndrome, is more objective and levelheaded in their understanding of culture, society, history the issues affecting the contemporary world than 90% of our "best educated" professors in the United States.
:Bear in mind, nearly 40% of the Russian federation are Muslims - [[secular]] Muslims - and they wouldn't have it any other way. They supported Soviet Communism then, and Russian Democracy now, cause they don't want to live under [[Shariah]] law. And they have a higher birth rate than ethnic Russians. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 01:52, December 24, 2021 (EST)
:Watch [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Bnt3CIqGhk this 3 1/2 minute video.] You don't need any translation or English subtitles to understand what is going on. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 01:56, December 24, 2021 (EST)
::a white boy is abusing his girlfriend on the streets of Moscow, and nobody reacts. The same couple do it again, only this time she wears a [[hijab]] {Islamic headscarf}, and Muslim men step up to protect her. It's not a religious thing, it's a culture phenomena in a multicultural society. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 02:01, December 24, 2021 (EST)
:::Putin does not drink and he works out two hours a day so that is good.[https://www.businessinsider.com/vladimir-putin-daily-routine-2017-6#his-work-schedule-tends-to-be-more-flexible-over-the-weekend-to-accommodate-putins-english-language-classes-on-sunday-he-sometimes-prays-and-makes-confession-23] But he is a former KGB agent and Business Insider reports: "On Sunday, he sometimes prays and makes confession... Nonetheless, Russian officials close to the president stress that "his life is not that of a Christian," according to Newsweek."[https://www.businessinsider.com/vladimir-putin-daily-routine-2017-6#his-work-schedule-tends-to-be-more-flexible-over-the-weekend-to-accommodate-putins-english-language-classes-on-sunday-he-sometimes-prays-and-makes-confession-23]

:::As long as the corrupt Putin is in office, Russia will stagnate. Leadership is by example. Russia has to overcome its demographic death spiral. And the heavy drinking and Russian men cheating on their wives is causing family problems. Apparently, Putin cheated on his wife. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 03:15, December 24, 2021 (EST)

::::This debate has raged forever - I recall my teacher [https://books.google.com/books?id=RniDlAP7ulkC&pg=PT4&lpg=PT4&dq=prof+william+renzi&source=bl&ots=TZH9Xyh_Oz&sig=ACfU3U1w12_iNy0BaGTV9umVsry_zEQrXw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiO1pP8l_z0AhVZG80KHbrFAPQQ6AF6BAgCEAM#v=onepage&q=prof%20william%20renzi&f=false Bill Renzi] saying many people believe Russia has to be governed by autocrats to keep it together, be it the Czars, Lenin, Stalin, or Brezhnev. It's too big and too diverse (Stalin's own son didn't speak Russian). Russia is not a single ethnicity, culture, religion or language. It is a "Union of Peoples" and has been since Czarist times.
:::::Technically, no nation has been one ethnicity/culture at all short of Balkanization, so please don't use that as a reason to justify a communist stooge like Putin (especially when even the JBS-backed New American made clear he was still communist). Even France has had multiple ethnicities in there (Alsace was a germanophone-speaking region [in fact, one of the reasons why the Jacobins planned a genocide of that region before the guillotine was used on Robespierre is precisely BECAUSE of its german-speaking population], and there's hints at Napoleon and Robespierre being ethnically Sicilian and Irish, respectively). And Great Britain is composed of four ethnicities/cultures (Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and English). And don't get me started on America which is multicultural even WITHOUT the current diversity crap being forced unto us by leftists. Germany was similar, originally being composed of multiple different countries (Bavaria, Poland, Austria, Deutsch, among others). In fact, the entire POINT of being a nation is in fact a "Union of Peoples", so it's not exclusive to Russia. And for the record, while it might be true the Tsars were autocratic, at least they believed in God and NOT Socialism or anything like that, unlike Lenin, Stalin, Brezhnev, or, yes, even Putin. I appreciate Russian society pre-Lenin. Post-Lenin, it is garbage, even under Putin, who refuses to go back to the Tsar. [[User:Pokeria1|Pokeria1]] ([[User talk:Pokeria1|talk]]) 12:02, December 24, 2021 (EST)
::::::The 'captive nations' have been set free. The rest remain part of the federation because they want to, given the alternative of being swallowed up by Islamic or Sinic culture, or other hostile neighbors. Russia has played a role in history similar to that of the British Empire, raising up peoples all over the planet to a level above what used to be call 'barbarism'. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 15:37, December 24, 2021 (EST)
:::::::If that's the case, please explain why Putin's gunning to go to war and annex various nations? If I were him and I truly thought they should remain free, I wouldn't even bother trying to prep an invasion of them. Besides, don't you think the fact that actual right-wing/conservative sources like JBS/New American and outono claiming Putin's a communist should give you pause? It's not like I'm citing Time Magazine or any left-wing rags. And for the record, if he truly cared about getting rid of Communism, he'd make sure ALL of it is destroyed, make sure the populace has nothing but disgust, regarding of ethnicity and culture, make sure to fire all the KGB priests and if necessary even line them up to a wall and shoot them, and certainly tear down Marx's statue and Lenin's tomb. That's what I would have done as an anti-Communist, make sure Communism is extinct. [[User:Pokeria1|Pokeria1]] ([[User talk:Pokeria1|talk]]) 15:57, December 24, 2021 (EST)
::::::::NATO provocation. You read too much CIA agitprop. NATO is supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine in the Donbass region, hence Putin and Russia are reacting. Whatever idiots in the Pentagon and CIA drum up this senseless bs need to be chastised forthwith. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 16:13, December 24, 2021 (EST)
:::::::::Ah, first of all, JBS has been [https://thenewamerican.com/fire-brennan-or-abolish-the-cia/ highly critical] [https://thenewamerican.com/is-it-time-to-shut-down-the-cia/ of the CIA], so it's not like they'd be pushing for the CIA's propaganda anyhow. Second of all, Putin was also funding the very same groups that George Soros is funding going by [https://www.outono.net/elentir/2017/11/22/neither-with-soros-nor-with-putin-the-russian-interference-in-catalonia-and-the-spanish-right/ this article] here as well as [https://www.outono.net/elentir/2020/03/05/the-george-soros-of-moscow-vladimir-putin-and-his-support-to-the-radical-left-of-the-west/ this article] (and it's very obvious that they're not CIA either. Actually, while commentating on the state of other countries, they are primarily concerned with Spain first, and they spare no criticism of socialism in their own country, being as merciless in their criticisms of Spanish Socialists as they are of Putin, of Cuba, and of any socialist/Communist nation. And just as an FYI, they've been VERY critical of the EU as well, especially it's soft treatment of socialists. If anything, outono's been far more consistent in being anti-socialist than Putin EVER was.). Third of all, Putin as of now is ALLYING with China, meaning they're not even enemies at all, or rivals. You're making the same mistake that people in the 1930s did with Stalin and Hitler before their Molotov-Ribbentropp act. [[User:Pokeria1|Pokeria1]] ([[User talk:Pokeria1|talk]]) 17:10, December 24, 2021 (EST)
::::::::::I haven't read any of the JBS stuff on Putin, and if it's anything like how you characterize it, they are wrong, assuming you are characterizing is correctly. Russia harbors no aggressive intentions against anybody outside its borders. Russia, as always, is preoccupied with defending its immense borders (and possible hostile actors within its borders). As to Ukraine, if it thinks it's going to convert Sevastopol into a NATO naval base, think again. As Dana Carvey would say, ''Naga doit''. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 18:06, December 24, 2021 (EST)
:::::::::::It's EXACTLY what they're saying. And BTW, it's not just JBS, it's plenty of other conservative sources as well. And BTW, did you know that Putin literally FUNNELED the Steele Dossier as well, aka the whole Russian Collusion thing? Don't take it from me, read it from Daniel Greenfield on Front Page Magazine: https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2021/12/schumer-who-accused-trump-russian-collusion-daniel-greenfield/ And don't forget outono, they're critical of Putin, the EU, all the socialist actors around the world. Actually, with the information FPM provided among others, if you support Putin, you support the Russian Dossier. [[User:Pokeria1|Pokeria1]] ([[User talk:Pokeria1|talk]]) 18:19, December 24, 2021 (EST)
::::::::::::Putin handed the Steele dossier to [[Peter Strzok]] and said, "Here, do something with it"? No, don't think so. That was the Hillary-Brennan-Comey-McCabe pipeline. Now, if you wanna discuss who handed it to the NYT, WaPo, ''etal'', you're not going to find Putin there, either. The pipeline goes Hillary-[[Jake Sullivan]]-[[Isikoff]] etal. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 18:26, December 24, 2021 (EST)
:::::::::::::He used a cutout. Of course Putin wouldn't directly order for or hand over those things, he's not stupid. Even Lenin avoided directly signing the death warrants that the Chekha carried out despite obviously encouraging it behind the scenes. Heck, if anything, Putin PAID those guys to spread that disinformation via Vincent Roberti and [https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2021/05/lobbying-push-russian-pipeline/ Putin's] Gazprom lobbying group. Me? I'd fight against China AND Russia, heck, fight against any Communist country, even risk rendering the world to cinders just to ensure Communism's dead and God's iron fist is controlling the world alongside his son Jesus Christ. [[User:Pokeria1|Pokeria1]] ([[User talk:Pokeria1|talk]]) 18:33, December 24, 2021 (EST)
::::::::::::::I gitit I gitit. Hillary was just a stooge as was the whole corrupt Democrat machine and MSM. There were victimized by one of Putin's evil plots to take over the world. That, of course is why we have to put back these idiots and maintain them in power, to defend against the evil Putin. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 19:13, December 24, 2021 (EST)
:::::::::::::::I never said the Democrats or Hillary were victims of Putin. Actually, if anything, I'd argue they're ALLIES, aka, collaborators with Putin, not victims of any sort. And for the record, I don't support the Democrats, at all. Especially not the ones who pushed the dossier. If anything, the fact that the same guys who pushed the Russia Collusion narrative to oust Trump are getting paid by Putin proves that, no, if anything, THEY'RE the ones colluding with Putin. If ANYONE was a victim of Putin, it's Trump. And quite frankly, you're acting more like Lyn Wood when he ordered for people to not vote during the period between the election and Biden's "inauguration", which apparently resulted in those crypto-commies Jon Ossoff and Warnock being elected into office (that, and voter fraud). And for the record, Obama was allied with Putin even back then, as you can see [https://thenewamerican.com/putin-bombs-obama-s-syrian-rebels-obama-joins-putin-alliance/ here]. [[User:Pokeria1|Pokeria1]] ([[User talk:Pokeria1|talk]]) 19:29, December 24, 2021 (EST)
::::::::::::::::Congrats. It's only December 2021, and you figured out the Trump-Russia hoax is a hoax. I had it figured by December 2016, and provided the corroborating evidence by March 2017, two months before Comey got fired and Mueller was called in to coverup the scandal. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 19:34, December 24, 2021 (EST)
:::::::::::::::::I already figured it out even earlier, like during March 2016. I knew Trump would never have colluded with Russia at all, that it was a hoax. Heck, despite my being autistic/aspergers with humor not being one of my strongest suits, even I could figure out Trump was joking when he said he could have the Russians investigate the hack to the DNC office. And the reason I knew that, is because Putin made no secret to wanting to restore Communism in Russia (I've already seen photos years back of Putin giving speeches in front of Soviet paraphanelia on Breitbart, BEFORE the 2016 election I should add, and posts on freerepublic making clear that he was pushing for a revitalization of Stalin). My mom also recognized that Trump couldn't have colluded with Putin either, even pointing out that Putin would have known what he was going to get regarding a good deal via Hillary Clinton and her Uranium deal. The only difference between you and me regarding the Trump-Russia Hoax is that I was firmly aware of Russia under Putin STILL being communist, while you are naively believing that they've given up on Communism despite even KGB defectors making it clear that they still hold on to Communism. And BTW, I pegged Russia as still being Communist as early as 2012 when I briefly saw in ''Dreams of my Father'' Karl Marx's statue being in Moscow, something that, had they genuinely given up on it, they would have torn it down like they did various Lenin and Stalin statues. [[User:Pokeria1|Pokeria1]] ([[User talk:Pokeria1|talk]]) 19:40, December 24, 2021 (EST)
::::::::::::::::::You're betraying yourself with the above posting. Let me count the ways. (a) "Trump was joking when he said he could have the Russians investigate the hack to the DNC office." Trump never said or implied any such thing. You are repeating Democrat commie agitprop (meaning you do not understand anything about the issue). (b) Putin had no involvement in any way, shape, or form in the origins of the dossier. (c) The Trump-Russia hoax at no point ever was a foreign policy issue. It was purely, from origin and inception, domestic politic corruption. (d) You continue to imply that Vladimir Putin, and/or Communism, has something, anything, to do with Trump-Russia You are in fact mouthing DNC talking points at this point. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 19:51, December 24, 2021 (EST)
::::::::::::::::::At this point, based on your posting above, I don't think you know or understand anything about what the scandal or crime was in the Trump-Russia hoax. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 19:53, December 24, 2021 (EST)
::::::::::::::::::Trump-Russia has absolutely nothing to do with Russia. It was a hoax. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 19:56, December 24, 2021 (EST)
::::::::::::::::The origins of Trump-Russia can be traced back to (a) the long delays in investigating Hillary's emails; (b) the fact that James Comey, and not Loretta Lynch, held a press conference clearing Hillary. This should have raised eyebrows everywhere. (c) The Bill Clinton/Loretta Lynch tarmac meeting. These were all the clues in open source MSM that something was seriously wrong with the Obama [[DOJ]]. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 20:02, December 24, 2021 (EST)
::::::::::::::::::::That's actually what I was referring to. The DNC servers got hacked and their emails disappeared. [https://www.theblaze.com/news/2016/07/25/trump-taunts-claims-that-russia-hacked-dnc-emails-for-him-the-new-joke-in-town Trump, jokingly, stated that he could get Putin to help investigate the emails for them] (and the Blaze, the source of that, was on Trump's side, not the dossier's side. Same goes for [https://www.newsmax.com/Politics/donald-trump-russian-network-vladimir-putin/2016/09/08/id/747391/ Newsmax], which the democrat agitprop hates as well.). My dad watched the broadcast, BTW, and he recognized it as a joke. As far as the Trump-Russia collusion Hoax, let me remind you that Daniel Greenfield, in the link I provided to you above, specifically pointed out that ALL of the Democrats who claimed Trump engaged in collusion, ended up paid by Putin and his shell corporation, meaning they if ANYTHING were the ones colluding with Putin, and more importantly, that Putin was pushing the collusion hoax as well. And yes, ultimately, it DOES have to do with Russia as well. And BTW, if I were you, I'd dedicate full hatred to both China AND Russia, not to mention Cuba, Vietnam, Venezuela, and the like, any and all Communist countries, dedicate every waking hour to wiping out Communism across the globe, and replacing it with the governments they had prior to Communism's take over, bare minimum (in Russia's case, reinstitute the Tsar). I would NEVER side with a Communist, period. I'd fight ALL of them, even down to the last breath if I must, as God demands that I and others do, fight to the bitter end, not care if it results in our extinction as a result. God wants Communism dead above all else, to ensure his rule is NEVER challenged at all. [[User:Pokeria1|Pokeria1]] ([[User talk:Pokeria1|talk]]) 20:20, December 24, 2021 (EST)
:::::::::::::::::::::It was an inside job or "hack" in May 2016. In August, Trump jokingly invited Russia to clear their name from the false accusations that "Russia hacked the DNC", or that "WikiLeaks is a KGB front." (You still seem to think Russia had something to do with the "DNC hack". I suppose you think Julian Assange is a KGB agent, too).
:::::::::::::::::::::[[Michael Sussmann]], who was just indicted by John Durham, is the guy who initiated the DNC hack hoax. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 20:32, December 24, 2021 (EST)

:::::::::::::::::::::Let's clarify the misleading narrative you began here: Trump's comments to "Russia" had nothing to do with '''[https://conservapedia.com/CrowdStrike#DNC_hack_hoax Sussmann's DNC hack hoax]''' - Trump was talking about recovering Hillary's emails, which Comey, McCabe, Strzok, and Lynch never prosecuted for destruction of U.S. government documents and mishandling of national security information. Be careful where you are going with DNC BS. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 20:37, December 24, 2021 (EST)
::::::::::::::::::::::I never said anything about Russia having anything to do with the DNC hack at all. If anything, I specifically indicated that Donald Trump was joking on that front, in other words, that he trolled the MSM and Russia WASN'T responsible for the hack. But Russia DEFINTIELY had something to do with the Dossier, especially when all the principal actors of that dossier, from Pelosi to Schumer, conveniently got paid by one of Putin's shell corporations around the time of the pipeline thing, as Daniel Greenfield pointed out in that article. Also, Wikileaks is obviously not a KGB front (the KGB died with the Soviet Union), and aside from that, Julian Assange isn't even on the Russian payroll, but he is definitely a Marxist-Leninist. I WILL admit I probably mixed up the two events. My mistake on that front. But Putin being Communist has been backed up by Conservative/right wing sources who also have spent quite a few times condemning various communist deep state groups as well, including Ion Mihai Pacepa. [[User:Pokeria1|Pokeria1]] ([[User talk:Pokeria1|talk]]) 21:09, December 24, 2021 (EST)

:::::::::::::::::::::::*''I could figure out Trump was joking when he said he could have the Russians investigate the hack to the DNC office.''
:::::::::::::::::::::::*''The DNC servers got hacked and their emails disappeared. Trump, jokingly, stated that he could get Putin to help investigate the emails for them
:::::::::::::::::::::::Do you even pay attention to what you post, or do you just like trolling me? [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 23:47, December 24, 2021 (EST)

::::And they certainly have [https://youtu.be/cMFIWBQB1kE a better national anthem than then we do - including the lyrics (click CC).] [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 05:22, December 24, 2021 (EST)
:::::I think it is mostly due to Eastern Orthodox Christianity being more hierarchal than Protestant Christianity. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 06:46, December 24, 2021 (EST)
::::::Except for the 70 year captivity in the Soviet era, Russia never had a separation of church and state in its 1,000 year history. And still doesn't. Even in Soviet times the people (''narodny'') never accepted separation of church and state. What is odd, how Muslims are content to live under the Russian Orthodox rather than under Shariah theocracy. The Jews OTOH, have had big problems with it. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 07:53, December 24, 2021 (EST)

===Greenfield article===
While the [https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2021/12/schumer-who-accused-trump-russian-collusion-daniel-greenfield/ Greenfield article certainly is interesting] and worthy of coverage in its own right, it adds nothing to our knowledge of the internal conspirators and law breakers involved in the [[Russia collusion hoax]]. These all are merely Democrat elected officials who spewed ''[[WaPo]]'' bullcrap. And the point of the article is, that while they were lying and deceiving the American electorate, they were also taking money from Russians. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 00:04, December 25, 2021 (EST)

== Watch this video. It is very informative ==

Watch this video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTf4JYfMuoI Bad News: How Woke Media Undermines Democracy]

It is very informative. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 06:48, December 24, 2021 (EST)
:Watched most of it last night. Will finish up today or tomorrow. How did they hold a symposium on this at Berkley without leftist Stormtroopers not burning the building down? Is it possible in 2021 for scholarship, discussion, and debate to still occur at leftist institutions? Makes me somewhat suspicious. She says, 'eight million people who voted for Obama also voted for Trump, so the idea Trump supporters are all racists is bs.' Better late than never. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 15:54, December 24, 2021 (EST)
::Here is another excellent video on the book with multiple people giving their perspectives: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKD7e5WoF_8 How woke media undermines democracy: A book event with Batya Ungar-Sargon].

::The videos confirmed what I thought all along which is the "golden rule". Namely, he who holds the gold rules. The left-leaning media caters to wealthy people on the left side of the spectrum because that maximizes advertising revenue. And the right-leaning media caters the wealthy right leaning wealthy people because that maximizes their advertising revenue. In addition, it is engagement that drives up revenue online so news stories are crafted to push people's buttons (like cause moral outrage). [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 17:04, December 24, 2021 (EST)
:::If it bleeds, it leads, as they say in the newspaper industry. People don't want stories about a newborn liter of puppies on the front page. In sales we say 'fear sells'. In fact, that is the secret of sales - the message is always negative. The two motivating factors to get people to part with their money is fear and greed. Fear that you may miss out on a deal or that your house will burn down with everybody in it ''if you don't buy'', and greed - 'wouldn't you like to be the first one on your block to have one?'
:::So that's how you capture people's attention - fear and greed. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 17:14, December 24, 2021 (EST)
:::This explains the incessant [[race card]], Dems have to scare the daylights out Blacks to keep them motivated to keep them voting. "The Klan is going to burn a cross on your yard!" Repubs have to recognize how powerful and effective this latent internal fear in Blacks is. So "racism", "white supremacy", "white privilege", "systemic racism" become buzzwords and phrases tossed around to great effect. Ignoring the impact it has, and why these are used, is not helpful, and can even fuel more of it. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 18:13, December 24, 2021 (EST)
::::The point of the book/video is that white, liberal elites care more about racism than blacks/Latinos and have hyper concern about racism because it makes them feel morally superior. And that hyper anti-racism causes radical policies like defund the police which actually hurts blacks/Latinos. And that this hyper anti-racism is partly fueled by the media whose journalists/interns come from Ivy League schools where hyper, anti-racism is also fueled.

::::Meanwhile, these white, liberal elites want open borders which drive down wages for Anerican Blacks/Latinos and working class whites. And they fight school choice (which blacks/Latinos want) which would give Black/Latinos and working class whites better educations. And these same white, liberal elites pushed policies that shipped blue-collar jobs overseas which hurt working class Black/Latinos and working class whites. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 00:06, December 25, 2021 (EST)

:::::It's a ''[[quid pro quo]]:'' white liberals in politics and media spread alarm and fear among Blacks with, "boogeyman is gonna getcha," for which they hope to be rewarded with votes.
:::::In 2020, the Democrats already knew the "cry wolf" effect is diminishing: and [https://conservapedia.com/images/e/e6/Support_for_Democratic_Candidates%2C_2012-2020.PNG in fact provides us with evidence of voter fraud.] While the percentage of Blacks voting Democrat continues to slip, all the fraud and ballot box stuffing occurred predominantly in black precincts. It's pathological: Democrats would have to cheat in black precincts with or without covid and mail-in ballots, if they hoped to win with declining numbers of blacks voting Democrat. Fortunately for them, they had enough of experienced ballot box stuffing teams in place already, and even were able to train new participants in how to do it in such a massive effort. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 00:23, December 25, 2021 (EST)

== Alexa.com ending on May 1, 2022 ==

Alexa.com ending on May 1, 2022.[https://support.alexa.com/hc/en-us/articles/4410503838999]

Compete.com was retired previously.

It looks like Similarweb.com will be the only free major ranking of a website's traffic.

Similarweb.com is more reliable than Alexa, but it is updated less frequently. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 00:52, December 25, 2021 (EST)

:This means two things: (a) Amazon (and Bezos), which owns Alexa, will move it resources into another area to attack and try to destroy conservative websites: and (b) numerous startups (both black hat and white hat) will step up to try to fill the gap left by Alexa. So we'll have to go through a period of screening new startups beginning now. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 01:04, December 25, 2021 (EST)

::In January/February, I will have access to a SEMRush.com subscription which ranks websites by web traffic. The public can see the rankings for the top 100 websites ranked by SEMRush.[https://www.semrush.com/blog/most-visited-websites/] [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 01:24, December 25, 2021 (EST)
:::Actually, the fact that Compete.com and Alexa.com disappeared/disappearing means there is not a lot of money in providing free rankings so the gap might not be filled. But there is not a gap since SimilarWeb.com still exists. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 01:26, December 25, 2021 (EST)
::::Alexa's pretty big; they have to wait til March to fill out contracts for service that exist. They likely will take many of their clients with them into a new subscription service (under whatever name). Similarweb and SEMRush will pick up a lot. But the global market is sooo big, there will be a rush by small startups. It will not be unlike all the smaller competitors Twitter and YouTube have. And they'll offer free service to attract new customers. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 01:37, December 25, 2021 (EST)
::::Alexa is so big, it feels it has gathered enough knowledge about how the business works (and have gathered the best customers) they can squash any competitors and starts ups. But one or two small startups will survive in the long run.
::::Also, Alexa feels the market has reached a saturation point to where the prospects for future growth do not require them to offer free service. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 01:42, December 25, 2021 (EST)
::::Anyways, this explains why their free ranking service has gone haywire over the past 9 months - they didn't want any new customers. It would only require them to hire more expert help to take on piddly-squat customers. Now they can concentrate their best employees on their best customers. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 01:52, December 25, 2021 (EST)
Actually, Alexa.com had a free service plus with a subscription, you could get more data. Both are disappearing in 2022.

Anyways, I have access to multiple tools that show a website's relative strength compared to other websites.

For example, here is some information from Ahrefs.com about Conservapedia:

[[File:756px-Conservapedia linking websites.jpg|thumbnail|center|700px|Amount of domains linking to Conservapedia according to Ahrefs.com]].
{{Clear}}
The domain strength reflects both the quality/quantity of domains linking to Conservapedia. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 01:56, December 25, 2021 (EST)
:No way is Alexa giving up the money from its subscription service. It is simply changing its name. If that were not true, the market to fill in the gap would be even more wide open. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 02:28, December 25, 2021 (EST)
::"Existing subscriptions will remain active until May 1, 2022 UTC. After that, customers will no longer have access to Alexa.com."[https://support.alexa.com/hc/en-us/articles/4410503838999]

::In May of 2022, Alexa will end as a subscription service. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 03:11, December 25, 2021 (EST)

:::Yes, the name Alexa. It's no different than when the [[NKVD]] changed its name to the [[KGB]], or [[ACORN]] changed its name to dozens of other names in different states. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 03:26, December 25, 2021 (EST)
:::There is no way they will walk away from the revenue stream they built over 25 years. And even if they did, the people they fired will start up a new business and reclaim the lost customers. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 03:28, December 25, 2021 (EST)
::::They will walk away from a revenue if the [[opportunity cost]] warrants it. It comes down to return on investment (ROI). If a higher ROI can be had elsewhere, Alexa's subscribers will be abandoned. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 03:43, December 25, 2021 (EST)
:::::Amazon purchased the company for $250 millilon in 1996; it made $6 million last year. So yah, it looks like a loser. So they shut it down and write off the losses (which go against income of Amazon). But nobody walks away from the $6 million revenue stream they built up, and the knowledge of the industry they created (at such a cost). So it gets reorganized. Some employees get transferred, others go off and create a new company with their knowledge base and existing client list. Now, the relationship of the new company to Amazon is different question; Bezos may be just a stockholder in the new company - apart from Amazon (or other executives buy stock or make loans to their former employees).
:::::Bottomline, if it is not an opportunity for the existing hands-on employees with knowledge and the client list, it is an opportunity for others to gross $6 million a year. The demand from the existing clients will not disappear with Alexa. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 03:56, December 25, 2021 (EST)

== Can you please check your email? ==

Thanks. —[[User:Liberaltears|<code>'''LT'''</code>]] '''''[[User talk:Liberaltears|(The Old Right was right!)]]''''' Monday, 22:20, December 26, 2021 (EST)

== Hi Rob. This is Nishant Xavier ==

Hi Rob. How are you? This is Nishant. I'm back now and am in the process of writing a Book on how we can distribute Crores (10s of Millions) of Bibles to the Masses in India. I want to complete the Conservapedia Bible Project Translation. I like it: https://conservapedia.com/Matthew_1-9_(Translated) But I have a question. Why is "He" and "His" etc not Capitalized when referring to Lord Jesus Christ? It should be imho, as He is King of Kings. [[User:NishantXavier|NishantXavier]][[User talk:NishantXavier|For Christ the King]] 17:07, February 1, 2022 (EST)
:Welcome back. Good to hear from you. I know User:Liberaltears was anxious to talk with you about a few things. As to the CBP, I'm not certain what the answer is cause I've not been involved in the Project. However, my guess would be that some editors deem capitalizing "He" as somewhat archaic, although I can't say for sure. Anyways, welcome back. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 17:17, February 1, 2022 (EST)

== Cultural Marxism Criticism Reverts ==

Uh, do you not want any rebuttals against the arguments used to disprove its existence? - [[User:SmashCulturalMarxism|SmashCulturalMarxism]] 2-8-22
:Huh, what? you mean Marxists claim it doesn't exist? Figures. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 18:03, February 8, 2022 (EST)

Can’t imagine why that would be the case. In any event, it would probably be useful to display the arguments used to claim it’s a conspiracy theory before said arguments are picked apart by the facts. Do you agree? - [[User:SmashCulturalMarxism|SmashCulturalMarxism]] 2-8-22

== Please check your email ==

Please check your email. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 16:43, February 13, 2022 (EST)
:Check your email again. I responded. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 19:12, February 13, 2022 (EST)
::Check your email again. I responded another time. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 19:24, February 13, 2022 (EST)

== Cultural Marxism Criticism Reverts Pt 2 ==

Rob, I thought we had an understanding. What are you doing? [[User:SmashCulturalMarxism|SmashCulturalMarxism]] 2-14-21
:Understanding on what? [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 17:19, February 14, 2022 (EST)
:FYI, if you think you're going to hijack the Cultural Marxism page so proponents of Cultural Marxism can call their critics 'anti-Semites', think again. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 17:21, February 14, 2022 (EST)

What do you mean ‘hijacked’? The criticism section is being expanded so that it can refute accusations of anti-semitism. How on earth do you end up misinterpreting all this? [[User:SmashCulturalMarxism|SmashCulturalMarxism]] 2-14-21

:Where are the accusations coming from? Are they from a reputable or reliable source other than an extremist source? [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 17:39, February 14, 2022 (EST)

The accusations are literally on wikipedia and any other leftist outlet trying to call it a myth. Are you seriously unaware of this? [[User:SmashCulturalMarxism|SmashCulturalMarxism]] 2-14-21

:No, it's to be expected. As Wikipedia says, 'an extremist source can only be used about itself.' [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 18:15, February 14, 2022 (EST)
:The purpose of our Cultural Marxism page is to describe what it is, not rehash debates and talking points among Marxists to being exposed. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 18:18, February 14, 2022 (EST)
:Why would you consider what Marxists say about Cultural Marxism as credible? [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 18:19, February 14, 2022 (EST)
:The situation is no different than Marxist school boards that claim [[Critical Race Theory]] doesn't exist. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 18:28, February 14, 2022 (EST)

If you don’t want the marxist talking points to be shown and debunked then why do you even bother to have a criticism page pointing out why they think it’s fake? And why are you assuming that I think what they say is credible? [[User:SmashCulturalMarxism|SmashCulturalMarxism]] 2-14-21
:(a) good question. It needs proofreading. (b) why do you insist on inserting Marxist propaganda? [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 18:47, February 14, 2022 (EST)

Well while you’re ‘proofreading’ arguments literally made to refute marxist propaganda, do you mind not rushing to assumptions and actually realize that Im trying to help the article? [[User:SmashCulturalMarxism|SmashCulturalMarxism]]

== Image uploading ==
Hello RobSmith! Could you help in uploading [[Conservapedia:Image_upload_requests#Echmiatsin.2C_Armenian_Apostolic_Church_and_Michael_Patrick_Mulroy|these two photos]]? For about two months no one answered me. I will be grateful for your help! [[User:Garik Avakian|Sincerely, Garik Avakian]] ([[User talk:Garik Avakian|talk]]) 02:58, February 28, 2022 (EST)
:Okay, give me few minutes. Sorry for the delay. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 03:09, February 28, 2022 (EST)
:;Okay, they are in the [https://www.conservapedia.com/Special:Log/upload Upload log]. Sorry for the long delay. I never did get the message from David. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 03:20, February 28, 2022 (EST)
::: Thank you very much for your help! [[User:Garik Avakian|Sincerely, Garik Avakian]] ([[User talk:Garik Avakian|talk]]) 13:19, March 1, 2022 (EST)

== Ukraine and the Wuhan Lab ==
Hey, RobSmith.

I noticed that you recently added a section on the alleged bioweapon labs to the [[Ukraine]] article. With that in mind, I’m interested in knowing if your perspective on the Wuhan lab has changed. I’ve always been suspicious that it was actually our own government who released the virus and that China was framed, while you have always maintained that China was indeed the culprit. Again, has your perspective on the Wuhan lab changed?--[[User:Geopolitician|Geopolitician]] ([[User talk:Geopolitician|talk]]) 18:34, March 1, 2022 (EST)
:No, not unless someone could show evidence of political collusion in addition scientific and commercial.

:And of course you have the question of motive. Now, motives in the CCP and the US public and private commercial interest may be easy to theorize, the problem gets down to ''who'' however, in addition to evidence. So you're left with just a theory, and a pretty well unfounded one, at that. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 18:51, March 1, 2022 (EST)

:In the case of the CCP, the political motivations are transparent: the Trump tariffs were about to take effect, the international organ harvesting Study was about to made public, and Trump stood a good chance of being re-elected.

:In the case of Fauci, despite his promise to get rid of Trump on January 11, 2017 with a pandemic, when news came of the "leak", his first reaction was "oh goodie, more money for Pfizer". Then he got an email saying "but your fingerprints are all over it." So one would have to prove a larger political agenda between the [[Deep State]] and the CCP to deliberately exterminate millions of people and shrink the global economy. Difficult task, but not impossible, that maybe your children or grandchild may one day wish to tackle. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 19:04, March 1, 2022 (EST)

::incidentally, they are not "alleged bioweapon labs" in Ukraine, they are bio weapon labs owned and operated by the DoD. The cover story is they are disposing of Soviet-era bio weapons, but we have strong evidence of ongoing research. It'll be interesting watch them being handed over to Russian forces, and what kinda English language documents the Russians will make public. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 19:13, March 1, 2022 (EST)

::Now in the [[North_Atlantic_Treaty_Organization#History]], they got the [[marginal cost]] of killing people down to 29 cents per head with a deadly strain of Yellow fever distributed through mosquitos, but nukes remain your best bet with a marginal cost of 10-12 cents per head, last I heard (these estimates would have to be revised to include the cost of storage and maintenance of a nuke over 30 years or whatever timeframe). [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 19:28, March 1, 2022 (EST)

::If Trump is to be criticized for anything, it's that he didn't listen to Pompeo or whoever who warned him, "they could release a bioweapon and cause a global pandemic before they ever pay a dime in tariffs, and you could be voted out." Somebody had to tell Trump that, but he dismissed as "they're just bluffing." Kinda like NATO idiots who think Putin is bluffing as they try to stir up nuclear war. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 19:44, March 1, 2022 (EST)
==Harris==
Hi. Here is her embarrassing reaction to an important question.
[https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1501907918261788673]
Image [https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/harris-poland-presser-03.jpg][[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]])
:[https://www.conservapedia.com/File:Harris_in_Poland.PNG Got it.] [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 12:05, March 10, 2022 (EST)::Thanks. Photo credit seems to be NYPost.[[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]])
::In the 1990s, when Sen. Moynihan was still alive, we used to talk about "the dumbing down of America." With Harris (and AOC) we've come full circle. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 14:26, March 10, 2022 (EST)

==Frank James==

NY Subway attacker (Apr.12.22) Frank James AKA Frank Whitaker - [https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FQLpkupWYAMWjw2?format=jpg image]
[https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1514029565622075405 source].[[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]])
:[https://www.conservapedia.com/File:Frank_Whitaker.jpg Done]. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 00:34, April 13, 2022 (EDT)

==Re Mosque and Gaza==

These are pics from Apr 15 and Apr 16 about the rioters' rocks at the Al Aqsa Mosque, ready to throw at police and at Jewish worshippers.
[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FQiRnyrXwAEZ5Sb?format=jpg 1] , [https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FQYN6lNWQAAVcq4?format=jpg 2].[[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]]) 21:30, April 17, 2022 (EDT)
:[https://www.conservapedia.com/Special:Log/upload They're in the Upload Log]. The rioters wearing shoes I found extremely interesting. Of course, our readers need more context about how disrespectful that is, and how it shows preplanning and intent. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 21:46, April 17, 2022 (EDT)
::Indeed I inserted, that according to their own laws...etc.
[https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY-4WFG0yPOkiCpSEuEfEJtUvxZa64JVofeSjhVmagNV9RE89u8e_5XtwPP5CkGORdpE2h2wQt4V5rQ5dqR91aII1lu9DbS0MmPfGYbFtQCd1zgWJXTpKnWBjvpNPsTjVoYHHOPQKATnV2vnO8jWtkoz7ljFQ7deHi5XlHq6dgKUOZgEWdPQ8/w329-h419/stockpile%20rocks.jpg See the pile of rocks at their mosque], [https://www.israelhayom.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/cartoon-4.jpg cartoon, how they use Al Aqsa].[[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]]) 12:16, April 19, 2022 (EDT)
:Looks like they were preparing to commemorate George Floyd. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 13:13, April 19, 2022 (EDT)
:You need these uploaded? [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 13:15, April 19, 2022 (EDT)
::yes, they called all 2020 rioters like in OR/WA as "protesters" of course. When you're able, have the time, please upload.[[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]]) 13:52, April 19, 2022 (EDT)
:::Ok, [https://www.conservapedia.com/Special:Log/upload got em]. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 14:18, April 19, 2022 (EDT)

==PIJ==
This [https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FQTAfjkXoAoS-HX?format=jpg] belonged to ''Sha's Kamamji'', of [[Palestinian Islamic Jihad]] before he was eliminated in Jenin when he opened fire.[[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]]) 09:51, April 19, 2022 (EDT)

:[https://www.conservapedia.com/File:Sha's_Kamamji.jpg Got it]. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 13:13, April 19, 2022 (EDT)
::Cheers.[[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]]) 09:21, April 20, 2022 (EDT)

==Burning their own mosque==
Hi. Can you get a screenshit from within [https://twitter.com/LiorHaiat/status/1516699900779577351 this clip] and upload it? This is today, when "Palestinian" Islamists throw Molotov cocktail ontebted against police and fall inside their holy" compound.[[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]]) 09:21, April 20, 2022 (EDT)
:[https://www.conservapedia.com/Special:Log/upload How's this?] [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Let's Go Brandon!]] 11:37, April 20, 2022 (EDT)

== Bytemsbu is wrong ==

You are tight. Bytemsbu is wrong, like on so many edits. It seems he has an anti Jewish agenda problem. Using "neo con" cover.[[User:Dianne3000|Dianne3000]] ([[User talk:Dianne3000|talk]])
==NYT==
Good morning. [https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FDcugJzXMAE0XYR?format=jpg This one] was hired in Feb 2022. Please upload, when can. Thanks.[[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]]) 11:02, April 26, 2022 (EDT)
:[https://www.conservapedia.com/File:Abdulrahim.jpg Done]. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Z]] 12:33, April 26, 2022 (EDT)

== I see you are still here. ==

What is going on with the war and stuff? --[[User:Yeschayi|Yeschayi]] ([[User talk:Yeschayi|talk]]) 14:21, April 26, 2022 (EDT)
:Having failed to get Poland to start WWIII, NATO apparently has convinced Romania to do it with an attack on ethnic Russians in Transnistria and oil shipments by rail. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Z]] 14:48, April 26, 2022 (EDT)
::I see. --[[User:Yeschayi|Yeschayi]] ([[User talk:Yeschayi|talk]]) 17:06, April 26, 2022 (EDT)

You claim to be a bastion of free speech but in Russia people can be sentenced for to 15 years in prison for peacefully protesting against the war, indeed even calling the invasion of Ukraine a war can land you in prison. How is that in anyway free speech? You also claim to be pro life but hundreds of children and thousands of other innocent victims have been killed, even murdered in The Ukraine, or were they all Nazis? I think it is far more simple than that. Putin helped Trump and Zelensky refused to too. You love Trump and hate Biden so all your morals go out of the window which means they were false morals to begin with.--[[User:Chewy Suarez|Chewy Suarez]] ([[User talk:Chewy Suarez|talk]]) 12:05, May 10, 2022 (EDT)
:Thanks for that. Should I add you to the pro-Nazi column? [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Z]] 12:09, May 10, 2022 (EDT)
::How is condemning murder and restrictions of free speech pro Nazi? Those are against everything the Nazi's were about. You calling me pro Nazi is like calling User:Conservative pro atheism. How about the you address the murder/free speech/false moral issues I bought up rather then ask a sarcastic not even wrong question?--[[User:Chewy Suarez|Chewy Suarez]] ([[User talk:Chewy Suarez|talk]]) 12:38, May 10, 2022 (EDT)
:::Good question: How is condemning US complicity in the murder of Donbas civilians and children since 2014 and the [[Ministry of Truth]] pro Nazi? [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Z]] 12:53, May 10, 2022 (EDT)
::::I have not once shown any support of what you claim while you have again and again supported the murder of Ukrainians.--[[User:Chewy Suarez|Chewy Suarez]] ([[User talk:Chewy Suarez|talk]]) 14:18, May 10, 2022 (EDT)
:::::If you are not defending fascism, I don't understand why you came to my talk page. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Z]] 14:22, May 10, 2022 (EDT)

the reason is because their is no reason for them to be added in the first place {{unsigned}}
:The information appears valid about the shooting; the bomb threat would need more research, but preliminarily appears valid. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Z]] 23:43, May 23, 2022 (EDT)

== Wikipedia (the article here, not the website itself) ==

Hello, I noticed that you protected the page [[Wikipedia]]. I know that some wikis have a protected edit request template, but I was unable to find one on this wiki. If one exists, it would be great if you could point me in its direction. My request is that under [[Wikipedia#Unbiased_editor_recruitment|unbiased editor recruitment]] the phrase "extent,but its editor pool" be changed to "extend, but its editor pool" (fixing a typo). Thanks, [[User:MayGodBless|MayGodBless]] ([[User talk:MayGodBless|talk]]) 12:42, May 24, 2022 (EDT)
:I unlocked the page. I don't think we have such a template, but I'll check. Anyways, sounds like a good idea though. Thanks! [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Z]] 13:03, May 24, 2022 (EDT)
::I will go ahead and make the template - I will leave a link here for you. It will populate a category that administrators can keep track of, in the same way that one might patrol recent changes. [[User:MayGodBless|MayGodBless]] ([[User talk:MayGodBless|talk]]) 14:26, May 24, 2022 (EDT)
:::ThanKs so much! This will be a big help! [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Z]] 14:35, May 24, 2022 (EDT)

== I found this info in the New England Journal of Medicine and at the Heritage Foundation website. I thought you might be interested ==

I found the below info in the New England Journal of Medicine. I thought you might be interested.

''Current Causes of Death in Children and Adolescents in the United States, New England Journal of Medicine'', Letter to the editor, May 19, 2022, N Engl J Med 2022; 386:1955-1956, DOI: 10.1056/NEJMc2201761: "Although the new data are consistent with other evidence that firearm violence has increased during the Covid-19 pandemic, the reasons for the increase are unclear, and it cannot be assumed that firearm-related mortality will later revert to prepandemic levels."[https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2201761]

Between social isolation and the attendant higher suicidal rate and the post George Floyd higher crime and rioting rates, it would make sense that gun deaths would increase.

The Heritage Foundation gives supplementary data that is helpful in explaining the rise of young people's deaths by guns in their article: [https://www.heritage.org/crime-and-justice/commentary/what-the-media-doesnt-want-you-know-about-2020s-record-murder-spike What the Media Doesn’t Want You To Know About 2020’s Record Murder Spike]. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 14:32, May 30, 2022 (EDT)

:[https://youtu.be/F4Vo7S3c8VQ?t=736 This guy breaks down the propaganda] use of the headline in 3 or 4 minutes, using facts in the same ''Axios'' article used to explain what happened:
*95% are homicides or suicides (not accidents);
*65% is black-on-black children murdering black children;
*30% are suicides as a result of lockdowns;
*white kids are still 4 times more likely to die in a car accident than black kids.
:[[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Z]] 14:53, May 30, 2022 (EDT)
::Axios has many good articles. They are the closest thing to a fairly nonpartisan news source in terms of Democrats/Republicans (But they lean slightly to the left). They focus on facts rather than mere opinions. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 00:03, May 31, 2022 (EDT)

==Img NYT==
Hi.
In May 1948, [https://twitter.com/JewishSpaceLazr/status/1528451000964730880 when the NYT still had some clarity...] [https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FTYmFdRXoAMU9TV?format=jpg img]. Thanks.[[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]])
:[https://www.conservapedia.com/Special:Log/upload Done.] You know, that cartoon is interesting on several levels in its historical context. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Z]] 16:42, May 30, 2022 (EDT)
::You are so correct. And it is also a shame how far and twisted the NYT has become since then...[[User:Telling|Telling]] ([[User talk:Telling|talk]])

== Request ==

Could you please expand this article: [[2000 Mules]]. And then do a few more MPR posts on it as you expand the article.

I would do it myself, but I have 3 off wiki projects to tackle this week. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 16:40, June 6, 2022 (EDT)
:Also, please have other articles at Conservapedia link to the [[2000 Mules]] article so it is not an orphan article. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 16:44, June 6, 2022 (EDT)

::I haven't seen the movie and only know about it from reviews. But the internal links will be not be a problem. Will do what I can to get it expanded, but WWIII & Ukraine remains my top priority right now (It isn't til about 1 AM my time Ukraine news starts coming in, so my sleep schedule is all screwed up). [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Z]] 16:54, June 6, 2022 (EDT)
:::Ok. Thanks. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 17:44, June 6, 2022 (EDT)

== False info ==

Hi. Three Christian employees [[Turkey#Attacks on Christians and Churches|were murdered]] in Malatya, Turkey in 2007, but not in 2009. (And also, 2 of them were Turkish Christians and 1 of them was a German Christian.) Can you correct the article, please? Thanks. - [[User:Andrewlee|Andrewlee]] ([[User talk:Andrewlee|talk]]) 23:43, June 7, 2022 (EDT)

Turkiye

2022-05-06T14:54:59Z

Andrewlee: Turkey is officially a secular state, and most of its people are secular.

For the animal with the same name see [[Turkey (bird)]]

{{Country
|name =''Türkiye Cumhuriyeti''
|map =Turkey rel 2006.jpg
|flag =Flag of Turkey.png
|arms =Emblem of Turkey.svg.png
|capital =Ankara
|capital-raw =
|government =Republic
|government-raw =
|language =Turkish
|king =
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =
|pm-raw =
|area =302,535 sq mi
|pop =85,000,000 (2020)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =$794,000,000,000 (2021)
|gdp-year =
|gdp-pc =$9,327 (2021)
|currency =Turkish lira
|idd =
|tld =
}}
The '''Republic of Turkey''' ('''Republic of Turkiye''') is a transcontinental country occupying the Anatolian Peninsula of [[Western Asia]], as well as a small section of Southeastern [[Europe]] at the Bosporus Strait.

Turkey has a lot of cultural heritage places. It is the land of the Seven Churches of [[Book of Revelation|Revelation]]. 89.5% of its people are [[Muslim]]s<ref>[https://t24.com.tr/haber/optimar-dan-din-inanc-anketi-yuzde-89-allah-in-varligina-ve-birligine-inaniyor,821459 Optimar'dan din-inanç anketi: Yüzde 89 Allah'ın varlığına ve birliğine inanıyor]</ref> and religion doesn't play a pivotal role in their lives. Most of the Turks are said to be cultural or nominal Muslims and continue to practice [[Shamanism|shamanistic]] traditions from pre-Islamic heritage. Although, [[atheism]] and [[deism]] are increasing in Turkey, there is a growing amount of [[Islamism]], largely due to [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan|Erdoğan]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2018/04/turkey-why-so-many-turks-are-losing-faith-in-islam.html|title=Why so many Turks are losing faith in Islam|last=Akyol|first=Mustafa|date=2018-04-16|work=Al-Monitor|access-date=2018-04-21|language=en-us}}</ref><ref>[https://www.dw.com/en/atheism-grows-in-turkey-as-recep-tayyip-erdogan-urges-islam/a-47018029 Atheism grows in Turkey as Recep Tayyip Erdogan urges Islam]</ref><ref>[http://asianews.it/news-en/The-number-of-atheists-increasing-in-Turkey-45956.html The number of atheists increasing in Turkey]</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43981745 The young Turks rejecting Islam]</ref><ref>https://www.thecairoreview.com/essays/turkeys-pan-islamist-foreign-policy/</ref>

Turkey continued the [[Western world|West]]-oriented [[modernization]] initiated by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] dynasty and statesmen. Many things in Turkey contain a mixture of the West and the East, the old and the new, the traditional and the modern. When you visit even the smallest city in Turkey no matter how little its population is, you will find that different cultural elements, traditions, beliefs, languages or dialects live.<ref>[https://www.studyinturkey.gov.tr/StudyinTurkey/ShowDetail?rID=ctfC0sgwTeQ=&&cId=PE4Nr0mMoY4= Culture - Study in Turkey]</ref> Even those who have not done anything related to [[Islam]] in their lives see being Muslim as a part of their identity. Therefore, they may have a negative attitude towards [[Christianity]] or other religions. Because of historical hostilities and bigotry, Turkey is virulently [[Anti-Christian sentiment|anti-Christian]].<ref>https://www.jihadwatch.org/2020/03/turkey-muslims-screaming-allahu-akbar-disrupt-christian-funeral-desecrate-christian-graves</ref> Some people incite against Christians and the other non-[[Sunni]] religious minorities due to radical nature of Islamic cultural background. The governing [[Justice and Development Party|AKP]] in Turkey depicts Christians as a "threat to the stability of the nation". Turkish Christian citizens have often been stereotyped as not "real Turks" but as "Western collaborators" by this bigoted and prejudiced point of view.<ref>[https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/israel-zionism/2020/12/how-yasir-arafat-drove-christians-from-bethlehem/ How Yasir Arafat Drove Christians from Bethlehem] D. Weinberg, Mosaic Mag., Dec. 28, 2020.</ref>

==History==
[[Image:St. Sophie Turkey.jpg|right|280px|thumb|Hagia Sophia, Istanbul.]]
[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Mustafa Kemal Pasha]], celebrated by the Turkish State as a Turkish [[World War I]] hero and later known as Atatürk ("Father-Turk"), led the founding of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 after the collapse of the 600-year-old [[Ottoman Empire]] and a three-year war of independence. The empire, which at its peak controlled vast stretches of Northern Africa, Southeastern Europe, and Western Asia, had failed to keep pace with European social and technological developments. The rise of national consciousness impelled several national groups within the Empire to seek independence as nation-states, leading to the empire's fragmentation. This process culminated in the disastrous Ottoman participation in World War I as a German ally. Defeated, shorn of much of its former territory, and partly occupied by forces of the victorious European states, the Ottoman structure was repudiated by Turkish nationalists brought together under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal. The nationalists expelled invading Greek, Armenian, French, British, and Italian forces from Anatolia and Turkish Thrace in a bitter war—and with a diplomatic struggle. After the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey the temporal and religious ruling institutions of the old empire (the sultanate and caliphate) were abolished.

The leaders of the new republic concentrated on consolidating their power and modernizing and Westernizing what had been the empire's core—Asian Anatolia and a part of European Thrace. Social, political, linguistic, and economic reforms and attitudes decreed by Atatürk from 1924-1934 continue to be referred to as the ideological base of modern Turkey. In the post-Atatürk era, and especially after the military coup of 1960, this ideology came to be known as "Kemalism" and his reforms began to be referred to as "revolutions." Kemalism comprises a Turkish form of secularism, strong nationalism, statism, and to a degree a western orientation. The continued validity and applicability of Kemalism are the subject of lively debate in Turkey's political life. The current ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) comes from a tradition that challenges many of the Kemalist precepts and is driven in its reform efforts by a desire to achieve EU accession.

Turkey entered [[World War II]] on the Allied side until shortly before the war ended, becoming a charter member of the [[United Nations]]. Difficulties faced by [[Greece]] after World War II in quelling a communist rebellion and demands by the [[Soviet Union]] for military bases in the Turkish Straits prompted the United States to declare the [[Truman Doctrine]] in 1947. The doctrine enunciated American intentions to guarantee the security of Turkey and Greece and resulted in large scale U.S. military and economic aid under the [[Marshall Plan]]. After participating with United Nations forces in the [[Korean War|Korean conflict]], Turkey in 1952 joined the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] (NATO). Turkey is currently a [[European Union]] candidate, although this has been clouded by their refusal to acknowledge the [[Armenian genocide]].

==Disputed territories==
===Kurdistan===
:{{Main article|Kurdistan}}

===Liwa Iskanderoun (Hatay)===
In 1939, Turkey annexed Hatay State, present-day Hatay Province. Formerly it was ''Liwa Iskanderoun'' of the Mandate for Syria and Lebanon from 1921 to 1938. However, Syrian maps continue to include Hatay as part of Syrian territory.<ref>https://carnegie-mec.org/diwan/54340?lang=en</ref>

==People==
[[File:Istiklal Caddesi 06 24 09 0068.jpg|thumb|right|A busy day on İstiklal Avenue, Istanbul.]]
Modern Turkey encompasses bustling [[cosmopolitan]] centers, pastoral farming villages, barren wastelands, peaceful Aegean coastlines, and steep mountain regions. More than half of Turkey's population lives in urban areas that juxtapose Western lifestyles with more traditional ways of life.

Turkey is officially a [[secular state|secular]] country with no official religion since the constitutional amendment in 1928 and later strengthened by Atatürk's Reforms and the appliance of laicism by the country's founder and first president [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]] on February 5, 1937. Due to oppression of [[Christianity]], Turkey's population is nearly entirely (at least cultural) [[Muslim]]. Most Turkish Muslims follow the [[Sunni]] traditions of Islam, although a significant number follow Alevi and [[Shiite]] traditions. Questions regarding role of religion in society and government, the role of linguistic and ethnic identity, and the public's expectation to live in security dominate public discourse. Turkish citizens who assert a [[Kurds|Kurdish]] identity constitute an ethnic and linguistic group that is estimated at up to 12 million in number.
[[File:Iskenderun church.jpg|thumb|right|St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in İskenderun, Hatay.]]
*Population (2018): 82 million.
*Annual population growth rate (2017 est.): 1.24%.
*Ethnic groups: Turkish, Kurdish, other.
*Religions: Muslim (majority), Christian, [[Baha'i Faith|Baha'i]], and Jewish.
*Languages: Turkish (official and majority), Kurdish, Zaza, Arabic, Armenian, Greek.
*Education: Years compulsory—8. Attendance—97.6%. Literacy—86.5%. ''(it's not current data)''
*Health: Infant mortality rate—39.4/1,000. Life expectancy—68.5 yrs. ''(it's not current data)''
*Work force (23 million): Agriculture—35.6%; industry—17.5%; services—47.2%. ''(it's not current data)''

==Racism==
It is common for Syrians to be attacked and beaten up by fascist gangs in Turkey.<ref>https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/north-africa-west-asia/race-and-racism-in-modern-turkey/</ref> On March 29, 2021, a Syrian refugee family had rocks thrown at their home. <ref>https://www.duvarenglish.com/syrian-refugee-family-target-of-racist-attack-in-southeast-turkey-news-56845</ref>

Additionally, a Turkish [[neo-Nazi]] group beat up an Afghan refugee. <ref>https://www.duvarenglish.com/turkish-neo-nazi-group-beats-afghan-refugee-shares-disturbing-video-news-60017</ref>

==Government and political conditions==
The 1982 Constitution, drafted by the military in the wake of a 1980 military coup, proclaims Turkey's system of government as [[democracy|democratic]], [[secular state|secular]], and [[Parliamentary Republic|parliamentary]]. A [[Presidential Government|presidential system]] was adopted with a referendum in 2017; the new system came into effect with the presidential election in 2018 and gives the President complete control of the executive, including the power to issue decrees, appoint his own cabinet, draw up the budget, dissolve parliament by calling early elections, and pack the bureaucracy and the courts with political appointees. The office of Prime Minister has been abolished and its powers (together with those of the Cabinet) have been transferred to the President, who is the head of state and is elected for a five-year term by direct elections. [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] is the first president elected by direct voting. Turkey's constitution governs the legal framework of the country. It sets out the main principles of government and establishes Turkey as a unitary centralized state.

Executive power is exercized by the President, while the legislative power is vested in the unicameral parliament, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The judiciary is nominally independent from the executive and the legislature, but the constitutional changes that came into effect with the referendums in 2007, 2010 and 2017 gave larger powers to the President and the ruling party for appointing or dismissing judges and prosecutors. The Constitutional Court is charged with ruling on the conformity of laws and decrees with the constitution. The Council of State is the tribunal of last resort for administrative cases, and the High Court of Appeals for all others.
[[File:Turkish Parliament in Ankara.jpg|thumb|300px|The Parliament in Ankara.]]

Universal suffrage for both sexes has been applied throughout Turkey since 1933 and before most countries, and every Turkish citizen who has turned 18 years of age has the right to vote. There are 600 members of parliament who are elected for a five-year term by a party-list proportional representation system from 85 electoral districts. The Constitutional Court can strip the public financing of political parties that it deems anti-secular or separatist, or ban their existence altogether. The electoral threshold is 10 percent of the votes.

Supporters of [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Atatürk]]'s reforms are called Kemalists, as distinguished from [[Islamism|Islamists]], representing the two diverging views regarding the role of religion in legislation, education and public life. The Kemalist view supports a form of democracy with a laicist [[constitution]] and Westernized secular lifestyle, while maintaining the necessity of state intervention in the economy, education and other public services. Since its foundation as a republic in 1923, Turkey has developed a strong tradition of secularism. However, since the 1980s, issues such as income inequality and class distinction have given rise to Islamic [[populism]], a movement that supports a larger role for religion in government policies, and in theory supports obligation to authority, communal solidarity and social justice; though what that entails in practice is often contested. Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the [[Justice and Development Party]] has been described as becoming increasingly authoritarian. Prior to the constitutional referendum in 2017 the Council of Europe saw Turkey drifting towards an autocracy, warning of a "dramatic regression of its democratic order". Many elements in the constitutional reform package that was approved with the referendum in 2017 have increased concerns in the European Union regarding democracy and the separation of powers in Turkey.

As of 2017 the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index rates Turkey at 4.88 (on a 0–10 scale), classifying Turkey as a Hybrid Regime. In 2018, Freedom House rated Turkey at 32 (on a 0–100 scale) as Not Free.

Human-right abuses, especially against [[Christians]] remains a problem<ref>http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78844.htm</ref> and the frequency of violent attacks on Christian ministers and priests is still high.<ref>http://washingtontimes.com/upi/20070418-030533-9552</ref><ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5139408.stm</ref>

The [[Kurdish Worker Party]] (PKK), an [[far-left|extreme]] [[leftist]] ethnic nationalist and [[separatism|separatist]] –originally [[Marxism-Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]]– [[terrorism|terrorist]] organization, founded in 1978, seeks the foundation of an independent [[socialism|socialist]] [[Kurds|Kurdish]] state.<ref name="Jongerden">{{Cite journal|last=Jongerden|first=Joost|date=2017-10-01|title=Gender equality and radical democracy: Contractions and conflicts in relation to the "new paradigm" within the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)|url=https://journals.openedition.org/anatoli/618|journal=Anatoli. De l'Adriatique à la Caspienne. Territoires, Politique, Sociétés|language=en|issue=8|pages=233–256|doi=10.4000/anatoli.618|issn=2111-4064}}</ref> It is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey,<ref name="RadioFrance">{{cite news|url=http://www.english.rfi.fr/asia-pacific/20140116-turkey-spy-agency-denies-role-paris-kurds-murder-launches-probe|title=Turkey spy agency denies role in Paris Kurds murder, launches probe|date=16 January 2014|publisher=Radio France Internationale|access-date=5 February 2014}}</ref> the [[United States]],<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|title=Foreign Terrorist Organizations|url=https://www.state.gov/foreign-terrorist-organizations/|access-date=2021-03-10|website=United States Department of State|language=en-US}}</ref> the [[European Union]],<ref name=":10">{{Cite web|title=Turkey 2019 Report|url=https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/sites/near/files/20190529-turkey-report.pdf|access-date=16 December 2019|website=ec.europa.eu|page=5}}</ref> and some other countries.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web|last=department|first=Attorney-General's|title=Listed terrorist organisations|url=https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205054738/http://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx|archive-date=5 February 2016|access-date=18 December 2019|website=www.nationalsecurity.gov.au|language=en-au}}</ref><ref name="Japan_ban">{{cite web|title=MOFA: Implementation of the Measures including the Freezing of Assets against Terrorists and the Like|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406134416/http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html|archive-date=6 April 2013|access-date=21 November 2013}}</ref> The PKK was formed as part of the Kurdish nationalist schism within the Turkish [[communism|communist]] movement<ref name="Jongerden"/> and the growing discontent over the suppression of Turkey's Kurds, in an effort to establish linguistic, cultural, and political rights for the Kurdish minority.<ref name="Palgrave Macmillan">{{cite book|last1=Joseph|first1=J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G06BDAAAQBAJ|title=Turkey and the European Union internal dynamics and external challenges|date=2006|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|isbn=0230598587|location=Basingstoke [England]|page=100}}</ref> Following the military coup of 1980, the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in public and private life to prevent separatism.<ref name="NYTK">Toumani, Meline. [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/magazine/17turkey-t.html?ex=1361854800&en=df64cf85326e2103&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink Minority Rules], ''[[New York Times]]'', 17 February 2008</ref> Many who spoke, published, or sang in Kurdish were arrested and imprisoned.<ref name="Cambridge University Press">{{cite book|last1=Aslan|first1=Senem|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wTAWBQAAQBAJ|title=Nation Building in Turkey and Morocco|date=2014|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1107054608|page=134}}</ref> The PKK's response to these policies has been the bombing of downtowns, the massacre of civilians, and the destruction of schools and hospitals in the Kurdish-majority cities of Turkey.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10576100701558620|doi = 10.1080/10576100701558620|title = The Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) as Criminal Syndicate: Funding Terrorism through Organized Crime, A Case Study|year = 2007|last1 = Roth|first1 = Mitchel P.|last2 = Sever|first2 = Murat|journal = Studies in Conflict & Terrorism|volume = 30|issue = 10|pages = 901–920|s2cid = 110700560}}</ref><ref name="amnestysecurity"/><ref name="childsoldiers"/> It has faced condemnation by some countries and human rights organizations for the killing of teachers and civil servants,<ref name="amnestysecurity">{{Cite web | url = https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a9ea0.html | title = No Security Without Human Rights | publisher = [[Amnesty International]] | access-date = 1 February 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Öğretmen Necmettin Yılmaz'ın Öldürülmesini Kınıyoruz!|url=https://www.ihd.org.tr/ogretmen-necmettin-yilmazin-oldurulmesini-kiniyoruz/|access-date=2021-03-12|website=[[İnsan Hakları Derneği]]|language=tr}}</ref> using [[Suicide attack|suicide bombers]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Foreign diplomats, countries condemn Cizre attack - World News|url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/foreign-diplomats-countries-condemn-cizre-attack-103271|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Hürriyet Daily News|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=PKK claims deadly suicide bombing at Turkish police station|url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-claims-responsibility-suicide-bombing-left-11-dead-turkey-1381604350|access-date=27 December 2018|website=Middle East Eye|archive-date=14 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214114351/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-claims-responsibility-suicide-bombing-left-11-dead-turkey-1381604350|url-status=dead}}</ref> and recruiting child soldiers.<ref name="childsoldiers">{{Cite web | url = https://www.refworld.org/docid/498805c428.html | title = Child Soldiers Global Report 2001 - Turkey | publisher = [[Child Soldiers International]] | access-date = 1 February 2021 }}</ref><ref name="HRWCS">{{Cite web|date=2016-12-22|title=Iraq: Armed Groups Using Child Soldiers|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/12/22/iraq-armed-groups-using-child-soldiers-0|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Human Rights Watch|language=en}}</ref> It was armed by the [[Obama administration]].<ref>https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/antifa-ypg-pkk-ties-threaten-national-peace-in-west/1899520</ref> The PKK trained [[Antifa]] fighters in Northern [[Syria]].<ref>https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/war-on-terror/ypgpkk-recruited-foreign-fighters-from-antifa-groups-in-western-countries-report-says</ref>

[[File:Ankara panorama Turkey.jpg|thumb|center|700px|The capital Ankara.]]

{{Clear}}
===Principal government officials===
*President of the Republic — Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
*Vice President of the Republic — Fuat Oktay

===Military===
Turkiye is a member of NATO and has the largest manpower contingent and reserves of all NATO members.

===Foreign relations===
[[File:Turkish girls laughing in calimanesti.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Turkish dancers in a festival in [[Romania]].]]
Turkey's primary political, economic, and security ties are with the West, although some voices call for a more "Eurasian" orientation.

Turkey entered NATO in 1952 and serves as the organization's vital eastern anchor, controlling the straits leading from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and sharing a border with Syria, Iraq, and Iran. A NATO headquarters is located in Izmir. Besides its relationships with NATO and the EU, Turkey is a member of the OECD, the Council of Europe, and OSCE. Turkey also is a member of the UN and the Islamic Conference Organization (OIC). In December 1999, Turkey became a candidate for EU membership. On December 17, 2004, the EU decided to begin formal accession negotiations with Turkey in October 2005.

Turkey and the EU formed a customs union beginning January 1, 1996. The agreement covers industrial and processed agricultural goods. Turkey is harmonizing its laws and regulations with EU standards. Turkey adopted the EU's Common External Tariff regime, effectively lowering Turkey's tariffs for third countries, including the United States.

On October 3, 2005, Turkey and the EU reached agreement for Turkey to begin negotiations on accession to the European Union. Turkey and EU officials have begun the process of screening Turkey's laws and policies in order to begin negotiating the individual chapters required for ultimate EU accession. However, this admission request has not been without criticism,<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2420697.stm</ref> including:
*Serious human rights violations<ref>http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20070419-0809-italy-turkey-eu.html</ref>
*Refusal to admit genocide of [[Armenia]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6043730.stm</ref>
*Refusal to recognize [[Cyprus]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6153186.stm</ref>
*Only 3% of Turkey is in [[Europe]]
*Threat of increasing [[Islamic]] fundamentalism<ref>http://www.freemuslims.org/news/article.php?article=1761</ref>

Turkey opened and provisionally closed in 2006 one EU negotiating chapter on science and technology. Another chapter on statistics was opened in February 2007, and two more are expected to be opened by July 1, 2007. Eight chapters, mostly related to trade, were suspended by the European Council in December 2006 after Turkey declined to open its ports and airports to Cypriot vessels—a commitment Turkey made as part of the Ankara Protocol and its EU Customs Union membership.

Turkey is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It has signed free trade agreements with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Israel, and many other countries. In 1992 Turkey and 10 other regional nations formed the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Council to expand regional trade and economic cooperation. Turkey chaired BSEC in 2007 and hosted in Istanbul the 15th BSEC Summit in June 2007.

====Relations with the United States====
U.S.-Turkish friendship dates to the late 18th century and was officially sealed by a treaty in 1830. The present close relationship began with the agreement of July 12, 1947, which implemented the Truman Doctrine. As part of the cooperative effort to further Turkish economic and military self-reliance, the United States has loaned and granted Turkey more than $12.5 billion in economic aid and more than $14 billion in military assistance.

U.S.-Turkish relations focus on areas such as strategic energy cooperation, trade and investment, security ties, regional stability, the global war on terrorism, and human rights progress. Relations were strained when Turkey refused in March 2003 to allow U.S. troops to deploy through its territory to Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom, but regained momentum steadily thereafter and mutual interests remain strong across a wide spectrum of issues. On July 5, 2006, Secretary Rice and then-Foreign Minister Gül signed a Shared Vision Statement to highlight the common values and goals between our two countries and to lay out a framework for increased strategic dialogue.

The U.S. and Turkey have had a Joint Economic Commission and a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, which last met in Washington in April 2007, for several years. In 2002, the two countries indicated their joint intent to upgrade bilateral economic relations by launching an Economic Partnership Commission, which last convened in Ankara in February 2007. In 2006, Turkish exports to the U.S. totaled about $5.4 billion, and U.S. exports to Turkey totaled $5.7 billion.

[[Condoleezza Rice]] ones described Turkey as “a vital and strategic partner of the United States”. But since the tenure of [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] these times are over.<ref>https://www.nationalreview.com/article/348422/erdo%C4%9Fan%E2%80%99s-agenda</ref> Erdoğan - a dictator<ref>[https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/11/turkey-erdogan-coup-hdp-pkk-syria-gulen-ypg Turkey's Fascist Slide] Güney Işıkara, Alp Kayserilioğlu, Max Zirngast, Jacobin, Nov 10, 2016.
Turkish president Erdoğan is wielding the state to attack anyone who won't capitulate to his authoritarian rule.</ref><ref>[https://m.imdb.com/title/tt7054718/ Erdogan: The Dictator's Republic], Imbd,
2017</ref><ref>[https://stockholmcf.org/turkish-journalist-goes-on-trial-for-insulting-erdogan-in-fascist-dictatorship-column/ Turkish journalist goes on trial for insulting Erdoğan in ‘fascist dictatorship’ column] SCF, June 28, 2018</ref><ref>[https://euobserver.com/political/147624 What does Erdoğan want?] Robert Debeuf, EU Observer, Mar 4, 2020.

"Shameful...unacceptable....blackmail...dictator." European leaders didn't spare their words to condemn Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan after his decision on Friday (28 February) to open its border with Greece and let refugees enter into Europe.

On Monday, Erdoğan stepped up his game warning that "millions" of refugees would come to Europe.

He also said he refused €1m in extra cash, saying "we don't want this money".

Despite this statement, former Nato secretary-general Willy Claes said on Belgian television that Erdogan is "a dictator" and that "all he wants is money".</ref><ref>[https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/11/16/biden-action-against-erdogan/amp/ Will Biden Turn His Words Against Dictator Erdoğan Into Action?]Adulrahman Taleb, Greek City Times, Nov 16, 2020.
Furthermore, Biden openly attacked dictator Erdoğan and called him an “autocrat” and promised that he will work with the opposition parties.</ref><ref>[https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/12/31/what-the-biden-presidency-means-for-turkey-and-erdogan-post-trump.html Erdogan should be very, very worried': What the Biden presidency means for Turkey] Natasha Turak, CNBC, Dec 31, 2020.
In an interview last January, Biden called Erdogan an “autocrat,” criticized his actions toward the Kurds..</ref><ref>[https://amp.france24.com/en/20190313-netanyahu-hits-back-turkeys-dictator-erdogan Netanyahu hits back at 'Turkey's dictator Erdogan'], ''France 24'', Mar 13, 2019.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday slammed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a "dictator" and "a joke"...</ref> ethnic-cleanser, oppressor, Islamist<ref>[https://www.theglobalist.com/turkey-recep-tayyip-erdogan-eu-nato-kurds-islamism/ J’Accuse Erdogan] Alon Ben-Meir, Globalist, July 9, 2020.

The weaker Recep Tayyip Erdogan is at home politically, the longer the list of the Turkish President’s transgressions gets.
<blockquote>
A preliminary list of Erdogan’s transgressions

For evidence, it is useful to assemble the list of transgressions that seem to be the only category Erdogan still seems to “excel” in.
Most fundamentally, Erdogan is violating every article of human rights in his own country, while being keen on destabilizing other countries by exploiting their weaknesses and resources in order to promote his nationalist agenda.

I count altogether 13 specific major transgressions:

1.Erdogan continues to commit gross human rights violations in Turkey by using the failed 2016 military coup as an excuse to silence the media.
Based on a judiciary that, for the most part, barely deserves that name, Erdogan has jailed over 150 journalists, incarcerated around 80,000 suspected of affiliation with the Gülen movement and purged 150,000 military officers and civil servants.

2.Erdogan engages in a systematic operation of ethnic cleansing against minorities in Turkey and northern Syria.

He invaded Syria to both prevent the Syrian Kurdish community from establishing autonomous rule, and to entrench for Turkey a permanent foothold in the country, which is bound to only prolong the conflict and further destabilize the region.

3.Erdogan systematically persecutes his own Kurdish community and continues a 50-year-old war against the PKK, which he views as a terrorist organization.

He also steadfastly refuses to resume negotiations with the Kurds — which account for as much as 20% of Turkey’s population — and end the carnage that has taken the lives of approximately 40,000 on both sides.

4.Erdogan purchased Russia’s S-400 air defense system which, once operational, NATO fears would seriously compromise the alliance’s intelligence sharing and technology — apart from being fully incompatible with NATO systems.

5.Erdogan invested heavily in promoting his Islamic agenda by supporting anti-Western Islamist extremist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and even ISIS.

6.Erdogan uses Islam as a political tool by building mosques and other Islamic theological institutions. He also sends his imams to teach and preach his brand of religious nationalism in many countries in the Middle East and the Balkans.

7.Erdogan violated U.S. sanctions against Iran by laundering up to $20 billion in an oil-for-gold scheme from 2012-2018, and he continues to cooperate and trade with Tehran in defiance of Western interests.

8.Erdogan made a deal with Putin in late 2019 to patrol northern Syria while working closely with Moscow and Tehran to delineate their spheres of influence in the country. He is thus leaving Syria de facto a divided state under their control, while significantly diminishing what’s left of Western influence.

9.Erdogan sent troops to support Libya’s Government of National Accord in an effort to establish a strong foothold in the country, exploiting its oil and gas and threatening the free flow of energy from the Eastern Mediterranean.

10.Erdogan violated a UN arms embargo while resisting NATO’s peace plans in Libya, including exercising extreme aggression against NATO ally France’s warship enforcing the embargo.

11.Erdogan blocked a NATO defense plan for the Baltics and Poland and regularly intimidates Greece, a NATO member state, violating the country’s airspace with Turkish military jets.

12.Erdogan is adamant about drilling for gas in the territorial waters of Cyprus and has begun plans to expand drilling off the coast of the Greek island of Crete.

In that pursuit, he remains at odds with Greece, Cyprus, Egypt and Israel over ownership of natural resources, threatening to use force to secure “his share” which could burgeon into a violent conflict.

13.Last but not least, Erdogan perpetuated the heated conflict with Cyprus over his demand that his puppet — the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus — enjoy equal political power to the Republic of Cyprus, which is four times larger in population and territory and is an EU member state.</blockquote></ref><ref>[https://www.politico.eu/article/mario-draghi-dictator-recep-tayyip-erdogan-sofagate/ Italy’s Draghi slams Erdoğan as a ‘dictator’ after Sofagate] Giorgio Leali, Politico, April 8, 2021.

Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi slammed Turkish Presiden Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.</ref> fascist.<ref>[https://turkeypurge.com/exiled-novelist-asli-erdogan-turkey-has-a-fascist-regime-it-is-not-yet-1940s-germany-but-1930s Exiled novelist Aslı Erdoğan: Turkey has a fascist regime. It is not yet 1940s Germany, but 1930s] TurkeyPurge, Aug 6, 2018</ref><ref>[https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article/turkey-turning-into-fascist-dictatorship-meps-told Turkey turning into "fascist dictatorship", MEPs told] Martin Banks, The Parliament Magazine,, Nov 8, 2016

A leading Turkish opposition parliamentarian says that Turkey has been turned into a "fascist dictatorship" under its President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.</ref><ref>[https://amp2.handelsblatt.com/recep-tayyip-erdogan-birth-of-a-dictator/23540062.html Recep Tayyip Erdogan: Birth of a Dictator] von John Blau, Handelsblatt, Dec 8, 2016.</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/19/jailed-turkish-editor-can-dundar-slams-eu-deal-with-erdogans-fascist-governmentJailed Turkish Editor slams EU deal with Erdogan's fascist government], Kareem Shaheen, Guardian, January 19, 2016</ref><ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/theworldpost/wp/2018/06/25/erdogan/ Opinion: Turkey takes a big step toward nationalist fascism] Omer Taspinar, Washington Post, June 25, 2018</ref> For example, he equated [[Zionism]] with [[Fascism]], [[John Kerry]] criticized him for this statement.<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/01/official-kerry-to-rap-turkey-pm-for-remark/</ref> Yet, after Erdogan previously using extreme silly diatribe against Israel, he changed his attitude towards Israel. In Mar 2022,<ref>AFP News Agency@AFP·2h#UPDATE Israel and Turkey proclaimed a new era in relations on Wednesday following more than a decade of diplomatic rupture, as Israeli President Isaac Herzog made a landmark visit to Ankara. ([http://twitter.com/AFP/status/1501659337646911499 Mar 9, 2022]).</ref> [[Israel]] and Turkey proclaimed a new era in relations on Wednesday following more than a decade of diplomatic rupture, as Israeli President Isaac Herzog made a landmark visit to Ankara.

==Support for Nazism==
During the 2022 [[Russo-Ukraine war]], Turkey sold large numbers of Bayraktar drones to Ukrainian [[neo-Nazis]]. <ref>https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/04/27/drones-russia-ukraine-war-donbas/</ref>

==Economy==
[[Image:Framed medallion Turkey.jpg|300px|thumb|Framed medallion.]]
Turkey is a large, middle-income country with relatively few natural resources. Its economy is currently in transition from a high degree of reliance on agriculture and heavy industrial economy to a more diversified economy with an increasingly large and globalized services sector. Coming out of a tradition of a state-directed economy that was relatively closed to the outside world, Prime Minister and then President Turgut Özal began to open up the economy in the 1980s, leading to the signing of a Customs Union with the European Union in 1995. In the 1990s, Turkey's economy suffered from a series of coalition governments with weak economic policies, leading to high-inflation boom-and-bust cycles that culminated in a severe banking and economic crisis in 2001 and a deep economic downturn (GNP fell 9.5% in 2001) and increase in unemployment.

Turkey's economy has recovered strongly from the 2001 thanks to good monetary and fiscal policies and structural economic reforms made with the support of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The independence of the Central Bank has been firmly established, a floating exchange rate system has been put in place, and the government's overall budget deficit has been substantially reduced. In addition, there have been substantial reforms in the financial, energy, and telecommunications sectors that have included the privatization of several large state-owned institutions.

Turkey's economy grew an average of 7.5% per year from 2002 through 2006—one of the highest sustained rates of growth in the world. It is expected to grow about 6.1% in 2007. Inflation and interest rates have fallen significantly, the currency has stabilized, government debt has declined to more supportable levels, and business and consumer confidence have returned. At the same time, booming economic growth has contributed to a growing current account deficit. Though Turkey's vulnerabilities have been greatly reduced, the economy could still face problems in the event there is a sudden change in investor sentiment that leads to a sharp fall in the exchange rate. Continued implementation of reforms, including tight fiscal policy, is essential to sustain growth and stability.

After years of low levels of foreign direct investment (FDI), in 2006, Turkey succeeded in attracting $18.9 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) and is expected to attract a similar level in 2007. A series of large privatizations, the stability fostered by the start of Turkey's EU accession negotiations, strong and stable growth, and structural changes in the banking, retail, and telecommunications sectors have all contributed to the rise in foreign investment. Turkey has taken steps to improve its investment climate through administrative streamlining, an end to foreign investment screening, and strengthened intellectual property legislation. However, a number of disputes involving foreign investors in Turkey and certain policies, such as high taxation and continuing gaps in the intellectual property regime, inhibit investment. Turkey has a number of bilateral investment and tax treaties, including with the United States, which guarantee free repatriation of capital in convertible currencies and eliminate double taxation.
*GDP: $750 billion (2020)
*GDP per capita: $8,824 (2020)
*Annual real GDP growth rate: (2004) (+) 8.9%; (2005) 7.4%; (2006) 6.0%.
*Annual inflation rate /CPI: (2003) 18.4%; (2004) 9.3%; (2005) 7.7%; (2006) 9.7%.
*Natural resources: Coal, chromium, mercury, copper, boron, oil, gold.
*Agriculture (10.8% of GNP): Major cash crops—cotton, sugar beets, hazelnuts, wheat, barley, and tobacco. Provides 26% of jobs and 4% of exports.
*Industry (25.4% of GNP): Major growth sector, types—automotive, electronics, food processing, textiles, basic metals, chemicals, and petrochemicals. Provides 20% of jobs.
*Trade: Exports (merchandise)--(2005) $73.1 billion; (2006) $83.5 billion: textiles and apparel, industrial machinery, iron and steel, electronics, petroleum products, and motor vehicles. Imports (merchandise)--(2005) $116 billion; (2006) 135.5 billion: petroleum, machinery, motor vehicles, electronics, iron and steel, plastics precious metals. Major partners—Germany, U.S., Italy, France, Russia, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, U.K.

====Failed European Union accession====
Turkey's principal ongoing economic challenge is providing for the needs of a fast-growing, young population. Raising living standards to those prevalent in Europe will require high rates of GDP growth sustained over many years. This would entail structural reforms that encourage both domestic and foreign investment. Principal areas for reform identified by Western financial intuitions include increasing flexibility in the labor market, making the educational sector more responsive to the needs of the economy and ensuring faster and more predictable operation of the judicial system.

As a former aspirant to membership in the European Union, Turkey aimed to adopt the EU's basic system of national law and regulation (the acquis communautaire) by 2014. However, Obama administration weapons and support for Kurdish terrorists, and racist Western attitudes toward Turks, pretty well scuttled Turkey's desire to join the EU.

====Energy====
[[File:Electric Energy Grid Turkey.jpg|thumb|360px|Electric Energy Grid.]]
Installed electricity generation capacity in Turkey reached 35,600 megawatts (MW) as of 2004. Fossil fuels account for 71% of the total installed capacity and hydro, geothermal, and wind account for the remaining 28%. The growth in electricity generation has remained below electricity demand until recently, which has made Turkey a net importer of electricity since 1997. The growth of energy demand slowed somewhat as a result of the 2001 economic crisis, but has picked up again. Turkish authorities expect a significant electricity shortfall unless new facilities become operational. The Government of Turkey took some important steps in 2001 to liberalize its energy sector, including passage of the Electricity Market Law and establishment of the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA). However, the government has moved slowly to follow through on plans to liberalize and privatize the electricity and natural gas sectors. In 2004, the High Planning Council approved the Electricity Sector Reform Strategy to renew the reform process.

Oil provides about 43% of Turkey's total energy requirements; around 90% is imported. Domestic production is mostly from small fields in the southeast. New exploration is taking place in the eastern Black Sea. In 2004, the Parliament approved a petroleum market reform bill that liberalized consumer prices and would lead to the privatization of the state refining company TUPRAS. TUPRAS was privatized in 2005, but this has been held up by court cases still in process. Turkey has a refining capacity of 802,275 barrels per day (b/d).

Turkey acts as an important link in the East-West Southern Energy Corridor bringing Caspian, Central Asian, and Middle Eastern energy to Europe and world markets. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which came online in July 2006, delivers 1 million b/d of petroleum, and in 2007, the South Caucasus Pipeline (from Shah Deniz) is expected to bring natural gas from Azerbaijan to Turkey. Turkey is building an interconnector pipeline to Greece, an important step in bringing Caspian natural gas to Europe via Turkey.

====Telecommunications====
[[File:Turk map.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Map of Turkey.]]
Parliament enacted legislation separating telecommunications policy and regulatory functions in January 2000, by establishing an independent regulatory body, the Telecommunication Authority. The Authority is responsible for issuing licenses, supervising operators, and taking necessary technical measures against violations of the rules. Most regulatory functions of the Transport Ministry were transferred to the Authority, and the regulator is slowly gaining competence and independence. The long-expected privatization of the state-owned telecommunications company was accomplished by the sale of 55% of Turk Telekom to the Saudi-owned Oger Group in November 2005. With liberalization and growth in the economy, there is growing competition for Internet provision, but Turk Telekom remains the sole provider of ADSL wide band Internet.

====Environment====
[[File:TurkishForest.jpg|thumb|left|280px|Turkish forest.]]
With the establishment of the Environment Ministry in 1991, Turkey began to make significant progress addressing its most pressing environmental problems. The most dramatic improvements were significant reductions of air pollution in Istanbul and Ankara. However, progress has been slow on the remaining—and serious—environmental challenges facing Turkey.

In 2003, the Ministry of Environment was merged with the Forestry Ministry. With its goal to join the EU, Turkey has made commendable progress in updating and modernizing its environmental legislation. However, environmental concerns are not fully integrated into public decision-making and enforcement can be weak. Turkey faces a backlog of environmental problems, requiring enormous outlays for infrastructure. The most pressing needs are for water treatment plants, wastewater treatment facilities, solid waste management, and conservation of biodiversity. The discovery of a number of chemical waste sites in 2006 has highlighted weakness in environmental law and oversight.
{{Clear}}

====Transportation====
The Turkish Government gives a special priority to major infrastructure projects, especially in the transport sector. The government is in the process of building new airports and highways, thanks to an increased public investment budget. The government will realize many of these projects by utilizing the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.

== See also ==
[[File:Blue mosque Istanbul Turkey.jpg|thumb|The Blue Mosque, Istanbul.]]
*[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]]
*[[Battle of Adrianople]]
*[[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]]
*[[Oriental art]]
*[[Göbekli Tepe]]
*[[Catal Huyuk|Çatalhöyük]]
*[[Grey Wolves]]
{{Clear}}

== External links ==
*[http://bertschlossberg.blogspot.com/ A Turkish Delight: they think so in Israel also!]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{| style="width: 100%; background:transparent; border: 2px solid #000099;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="1"
!colspan=2 style="width: 100%; text-align: center; background-color: #000088; color: white; "|'''Copyright Details'''
|-
!style="background-color: #000088; color:white;"|License:
|style=" background-color: none;"| This work is in the [[Public Domain]] in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the U.S. Code
|-
!style=" background-color: #000088; color:white;"|Source:
|style="background-color: none;border-top: 2px solid black"| File available from the {{{1|[[United States Federal Government]] [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3432.htm]}}}.
|}

{{Asian Countries}}

[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:NATO Members]]
[[Category:Turkey]]
[[Category:Muslim-Majority Countries]]

Istanbul

2022-05-06T14:17:19Z

Andrewlee:

[[File:Saint Sophia Turkey.jpg|thumb|Hagia Sophia.]]

'''Istanbul''' ([[Turkish language|Turkish]]: İstanbul), historically known as '''Constantinople''' and '''Byzantium''', is the largest city in [[Turkey]] and amongst the largest of cities in the world, with a population nearing 13 million. For the most part, Istanbul is located in the European part of Turkey, Thrace, but extends into parts of Asia-Minor. While [[Ankara]] is the formal capital of Turkey, Istanbul is largely considered the cultural and financial capital of the nation. Since the Fourth century, Istanbul has been a major city, known by names such as Byzantium and Constantinople.

==Byzantine Era==
As Constantinople the city served as the capital of four major empires: The [[Roman Empire]] (330-395), the [[Byzantine Empire]] as the surviving offshoot of the old Roman Empire (395-1204 and 1261-1453), the Latin Empire (1204-1261), and the [[Ottoman Empire]] (1453-1922). Formerly the city of Byzantium, [[Constantine]] renamed it as Constantinople in A.D. 330. It was designed to be the [[Rome]] of the East (''Nova Roma'', or "New Rome"). It was conquered by the [[Ottoman]] [[Sultan]] [[Mahmud II]] in 1453 after being defended by [[Constantine XI]], the last of the Byzantine Emperors, and his small army. It served as the capital of the [[Ottoman Empire]] until the Empire was broken apart by the [[World War I|First World War]].
[[History as a Christian Metropolis]]
The city was founded by Constantine in A.D. 330. Although originally he named it Nova Roma, which was Latin for "new Rome," the mostly Greek residents he settled in the city called it Constantinopolis, and in English this is Constantinople. He made it the capital of the Roman Empire, but for fifty years most emperors spent most of their reigns not in Constantine's palace but fighting against either the Persians or the Germans. Emperor Theodosius was the first potentate to spend most of his reign in the city. When he died in 395, the empire split into western and eastern halves. In 527 [[Justinian]] became emperor and issued a collection of all laws ever published by the Roman emperors, from Augustus to Theodosius. When a fire destroyed most of Constantine's buildings, Justinian rebuilt in a magnificent half-Greek, half-Oriental, and half-Roman style. His most famous building was the Hagia Sophia, built in 537 in Asian style. During the early seventh century, the city was threatened by the Persians, but the emperor Heraclius raised a large and well-equipped army which defeated them and retook Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, which the Persians had seized. But then the Arabs, now followers of [[Islam]], seized Syria, Egypt, Palestine, and North Africa. Meanwhile, lands in northern Italy and southern Spain taken by Justinian were lost to Germanic kings.

In 1071, the Seljuk Turks, who had converted to Islam, took all of Asia Minor and threatened to sail across the Bosporus and seize Constantinople. Twenty-four years later, Emperor Alexius IV appealed to Pope Urban II, who by the power of his speech convinced the French, the Germans, and the English to embark on a [[Crusade]] or holy war to protect Byzantium and seize Jerusalem from the Muslims. Both succeeded, but in 1204 French knights headed to Egypt sacked Constantinople, installed a Western emperor, and tried to make Byzantium Catholic and Latin-speaking. Yet in 1261 the exile Michael Palelogoi seized the city and became Emperor Michael VIII. He restored much of the city's wealth and fortifications, but wasted troops on seizing Asia Minor.

==Ottoman Era==
In 1453 It was conquered by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] Sultan [[Mehmed II]]. It served as the capital of the [[Ottoman Empire]] until the Empire was destroyed by the [[World War I|First World War]].

[[Category:Turkey]]
[[Category:European Cities and Towns]]
[[Category:Asian Cities and Towns]]
[[Category:Roman Empire]]
[[Category:Byzantine Empire]]
[[Category:Medieval History]]

Grey Wolves (Organization)

2022-05-06T14:14:58Z

Andrewlee: /* Anti-Armenian hate and violence */

The '''Grey Wolves''' is a Turkish Islamist, [[fascist]]<ref>Taspinar, Omer (2005). "The Kurdish Question in Turkish Politics". Kurdish Nationalism and Political Islam in Turkey: Kemalist Identity in Transition. Middle East Studies: History, Politics & Law. New York and London: Routledge. pp. 92–94. doi:10.4324/9780203327036. ISBN 9780415512848.</ref><ref>Sullivan, Colleen (2011). "Grey Wolves". In Martin, Gus (ed.). The SAGE Encyclopedia of Terrorism (2nd ed.). Sage Publications. pp. 236–7.</ref> and [[neo-Nazi]] organization.<ref>https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17983/turkish-grey-wolves</ref> The Grey Wolves has been designated as a terrorist organization by France.<ref>https://www.dw.com/en/france-bans-turkish-ultra-nationalist-grey-wolves-group/a-55503469</ref> Turkish dictator Erdoğan and an Azerbaijani military general have made the hand sign of the Grey Wolves. <ref>https://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2018/03/11/erdogan-grey-wolves-video/</ref><ref>https://zartonkmedia.com/2020/12/10/azerbaijani-general-making-the-grey-wolves-sign-at-baku-parade/</ref>

==International Presence==
The Grey Wolves operates in numerous different countries such as Azerbaijan, Syria, Russia, Thailand, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden and Norway.<ref>Brzezinski, Zbigniew; Sullivan, Paige, eds. (1997). Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States: Documents, Data, and Analysis. Washington, D.C.: M. E. Sharpe. p. 616. ISBN 978-1-56324-637-1. It is also revealed that a new force of 200 armed members of the Grey Wolves organization has been dispatched from Turkey in preparation for a new Azeri offensive and to train units of the Azeri army.</ref><ref>Ali, Kyamal (18 February 2014). "Серые волки" собрались на охоту. ann.az (in Russian). Azerbaijan News Network. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. В 1995 году Верховный суд ликвидировал регистрацию «Боз Гурд» в связи с названием организации, известной в мире как террористическая.</ref><ref>Cherni︠a︡vskiĭ, Stanislav (2002). Новый путь Азербайджана [Azerbaijan's New Path]. Azer-Media: Moscow. p. 169. Партия «Боз гурд» («Серые волки») возникла в рядах НФ, организационно оформилась весной 1992 г. Партия считала себя филиалом турецкой экстремистской организации «Серые волки», которая была запрещена в Турции..."</ref><ref>"Russian think tank labels Turkish far-right Grey Wolves as 'extremist' organisation". ahvalnews.com. Ahval. August 18, 2020. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.</ref><ref>Maguid, Mohamed Abdel (11 May 2017). "Grey Wolves, Turkey's armed proxy in Syria". Egypt Today. Archived from the original on 29 July 2020.</ref><ref>https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/11832701/Bangkok-bombing-Was-it-the-Grey-Wolves-of-Turkey.html</ref><ref>https://newscomworld.com/2020/11/03/france-to-ban-turkish-ultranationalist-grey-wolves/</ref>

==Anti-Armenian hate and violence==
In January 2004, the Grey Wolves blocked the screening of "Ararat", a movie about the Armenian Genocide, in Turkey.<ref>"'Ararat'ın ertelenmesine Egoyan'dan tepki". Radikal (in Turkish). 7 January 2004. Archived from the original on 10 November 2014.</ref><ref>https://asbarez.com/turkish-extremists-scuttle-the-screening-of-ararat/</ref> On April 24, 2011, Sevag Balıkçı, a Turkish soldier of Armenian descent was killed by Turkish Grey Wolves member Kıvanç Ağaoğlu.<ref>https://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/70221/</ref>

During the 2020 Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, there were widespread attacks on Armenians in France by Grey Wolves members.<ref>https://zartonkmedia.com/2020/08/31/turkish-grey-wolves-members-attack-armenians-during-a-rally-in-france-on-july-24-criminal-cases-initiated/</ref><ref>https://news.am/eng/news/611489.html</ref>

==Anti-Greek violence==
The Grey Wolves routinely protest outside the Greek Orthodox Church's headquarters in Constantinople and burn effigies of the Church's patriarch. <ref>Alexopoulos, Dimitris (28 October 2005). "By the Grey Wolves Tension at the Patriarchate". Hellenic Radio.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Star and Crescent]]

==References==

[[Category:Islamism]]
[[Category:Fascism]]
[[Category:Nazism]]
[[Category:Terrorism]]
[[Category:Turkey]]

Grey Wolves (Organization)

2022-05-06T14:13:33Z

Andrewlee:

The '''Grey Wolves''' is a Turkish Islamist, [[fascist]]<ref>Taspinar, Omer (2005). "The Kurdish Question in Turkish Politics". Kurdish Nationalism and Political Islam in Turkey: Kemalist Identity in Transition. Middle East Studies: History, Politics & Law. New York and London: Routledge. pp. 92–94. doi:10.4324/9780203327036. ISBN 9780415512848.</ref><ref>Sullivan, Colleen (2011). "Grey Wolves". In Martin, Gus (ed.). The SAGE Encyclopedia of Terrorism (2nd ed.). Sage Publications. pp. 236–7.</ref> and [[neo-Nazi]] organization.<ref>https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17983/turkish-grey-wolves</ref> The Grey Wolves has been designated as a terrorist organization by France.<ref>https://www.dw.com/en/france-bans-turkish-ultra-nationalist-grey-wolves-group/a-55503469</ref> Turkish dictator Erdoğan and an Azerbaijani military general have made the hand sign of the Grey Wolves. <ref>https://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2018/03/11/erdogan-grey-wolves-video/</ref><ref>https://zartonkmedia.com/2020/12/10/azerbaijani-general-making-the-grey-wolves-sign-at-baku-parade/</ref>

==International Presence==
The Grey Wolves operates in numerous different countries such as Azerbaijan, Syria, Russia, Thailand, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden and Norway.<ref>Brzezinski, Zbigniew; Sullivan, Paige, eds. (1997). Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States: Documents, Data, and Analysis. Washington, D.C.: M. E. Sharpe. p. 616. ISBN 978-1-56324-637-1. It is also revealed that a new force of 200 armed members of the Grey Wolves organization has been dispatched from Turkey in preparation for a new Azeri offensive and to train units of the Azeri army.</ref><ref>Ali, Kyamal (18 February 2014). "Серые волки" собрались на охоту. ann.az (in Russian). Azerbaijan News Network. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. В 1995 году Верховный суд ликвидировал регистрацию «Боз Гурд» в связи с названием организации, известной в мире как террористическая.</ref><ref>Cherni︠a︡vskiĭ, Stanislav (2002). Новый путь Азербайджана [Azerbaijan's New Path]. Azer-Media: Moscow. p. 169. Партия «Боз гурд» («Серые волки») возникла в рядах НФ, организационно оформилась весной 1992 г. Партия считала себя филиалом турецкой экстремистской организации «Серые волки», которая была запрещена в Турции..."</ref><ref>"Russian think tank labels Turkish far-right Grey Wolves as 'extremist' organisation". ahvalnews.com. Ahval. August 18, 2020. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.</ref><ref>Maguid, Mohamed Abdel (11 May 2017). "Grey Wolves, Turkey's armed proxy in Syria". Egypt Today. Archived from the original on 29 July 2020.</ref><ref>https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/11832701/Bangkok-bombing-Was-it-the-Grey-Wolves-of-Turkey.html</ref><ref>https://newscomworld.com/2020/11/03/france-to-ban-turkish-ultranationalist-grey-wolves/</ref>

==Anti-Armenian hate and violence==
In January 2004, the Grey Wolves blocked the screening of "Ararat", a movie about the Armenian Genocide, in Turkey. <ref>"'Ararat'ın ertelenmesine Egoyan'dan tepki". Radikal (in Turkish). 7 January 2004. Archived from the original on 10 November 2014.</ref><ref>https://asbarez.com/turkish-extremists-scuttle-the-screening-of-ararat/</ref> On April 24, 2011, Sevag Balikci, a Turkish soldier of Armenian descent was killed by Turkish Grey Wolves member Kivanc Agaoglu.<ref>https://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/70221/</ref>

During the 2020 Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, there were widespread attacks on Armenians in France by Grey Wolves members.<ref>https://zartonkmedia.com/2020/08/31/turkish-grey-wolves-members-attack-armenians-during-a-rally-in-france-on-july-24-criminal-cases-initiated/</ref><ref>https://news.am/eng/news/611489.html</ref>

==Anti-Greek violence==
The Grey Wolves routinely protest outside the Greek Orthodox Church's headquarters in Constantinople and burn effigies of the Church's patriarch. <ref>Alexopoulos, Dimitris (28 October 2005). "By the Grey Wolves Tension at the Patriarchate". Hellenic Radio.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Star and Crescent]]

==References==

[[Category:Islamism]]
[[Category:Fascism]]
[[Category:Nazism]]
[[Category:Terrorism]]
[[Category:Turkey]]

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

2022-05-06T13:58:28Z

Andrewlee: /* See also */"The new leader of Turkey after the war, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk had broken with the Young Turk group in 1914, was never involved in the genocide, and ended the privileged position given to Islam."

{{Dictator bio
| image =[[Image:Mustafa Kemal Ataturk 1919 Sivas Congress (cropped).jpg|200px]]
| name =Kemal Atatürk
| birth =1881 Salonica, Ottoman Macedonia, Ottoman Empire
| parents =Ali Rıza Efendi Zübeyde Hanım
| religion =[[Sunni]]sm (rejected) Atheist
| spouse =Latife Uşaklıgil (1923–1925)
| children =9 (adopted)
| death =November 10, 1938 Dolmabahçe Palace, Istanbul, Turkey
| deathmanner =Cirrhosis
| education =Ottoman War Academy Imperial Military Staff College
| country =[[Turkey]]
| military =Ottoman Army (1893–1919) Army of the Grand National Assembly (1920–1923) Turkish Army (1923–1927)
| rank =Major General (Ottoman Army) Marshal (Turkish Army)
| burial =Ethnography Museum, Ankara (November 21, 1938 – November 10, 1953) Anıtkabir, Ankara (since November 10, 1953)
| polbeliefs =[[Republicanism]] [[Nationalism]] [[Secularism]] [[Populism]] [[Statism]] [[Reform]]ism [[Fascism]]<ref>http://www.ardarutyun.org/?p=4140&lang=en</ref>
| party =Republican People's Party (''Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi'')
| dictatordate =October 29, 1923
| war =Revolt against the Allies and the legal government in Constantinople ("Turkish War of Independence")
| deathnumber =264,000 Greek civilians 60,000–250,000 Armenian civilians Thousands of Ottomans supporting the legal Constantinople government
}}
'''Kemal Atatürk'''<ref>[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Atat%C3%BCrk%27%C3%BCn_993_814_seri_numaral%C4%B1_n%C3%BCfus_c%C3%BCzdan%C4%B1.jpg ID card from 1934]</ref> (or alternatively written as '''Kamâl Atatürk''';<ref>[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Atat%C3%BCrk%27%C3%BCn_993_815_seri_numaral%C4%B1_n%C3%BCfus_c%C3%BCzdan%C4%B1.jpg ID card from 1935]</ref> 1881 – November 10, 1938), also known as '''Mustafa Kemal Pasha''' ([[Turkish language|Turkish]]: ''Mustafa Kemal Paşa'') and often called '''Mustafa Kemal Atatürk''', was a Turkish military commander of the Ottoman Army during [[World War I]] and the founding father of the Turkish [[nation state]]. After the defeat of the [[Central Powers]] in World War I, he started a [[Nationalism|nationalist]] revolt against the legal Ottoman Imperial Government in [[Constantinople]] and the authorized Allied Powers. In this rebellion, he got stronger with the support of Ottoman army officers, politicians, and people. He won his war against Constantinople and the Allies, then founded the Republic of [[Turkey]]. He inspired [[Adolf Hitler]] with these actions.<ref>In his [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler%27s_Address_to_the_Reichstag_(4_May_1941) address to the Reichstag on May 4, 1941], [[Adolf Hitler]] said: {{cquote|"Turkey had been our ally in the [[World War I|World War]]. Its unfortunate result was as heavy a burden for Turkey as it was for us. The great and ingenious reconstructor of the new Turkey gave his Allies, beaten by fate, the first example of resurrection. While Turkey, thanks to the realistic attitude of her State leadership, preserved her independent attitude Yugoslavia fell a victim to British intrigues."}}</ref><ref>In a [https://www.docdroid.net/xaZwuc0/stefan-ihrig-ataturk-in-the-nazi-imagination-pdf#page=125 meeting with a delegation of Turkish politicians and journalists on April 20, 1938], Hitler said: {{cquote|"Atatürk was the first to show that it is possible to mobilize and regenerate the resources that a country has lost. In this respect Atatürk was a teacher; [[Benito Mussolini|Mussolini]] was his first and I his second student."}}</ref> Atatürk was a heavy drinker and smoker.<ref>https://www.forbes.com/2008/12/05/turkey-ataturk-movie-oped-cx_aa_1207aydintasbas.html?sh=21aed86e3b64</ref>

==Biography==
Atatürk was a successful division commander in the [[Battle of Gallipoli]]. The Allies defeated the [[Ottoman Empire]] and arranged for its partition. Thereupon, after a few congresses, he led an organized political resistance in Asia Minor by establishing a new assembly and government in [[Ankara]] (at that time Angora). Atatürk defeated the forces sent by the Allies, thus emerging victorious from what was later referred to as the "Turkish War of Independence" (in fact, this war was a revolt against the victorious Allied Powers of WWI and the legal government of the Ottoman Empire in [[Constantinople]]). Then he deposed the last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire in 1922 and became the first President of Turkey in 1923.

Atatürk led a political, legal, religious, cultural, social, and economic revolution that replaced some of the traditionalist and medieval social and political systems with ones that were modern, scientific (also nationalistic pseudoscientific), secularized, and based on the [[rationalism|rationalist]] [[Enlightenment]]. He abolished the [[caliphate]], a remnant of the former monarchy, and exiled the Ottoman dynasty from Turkey. Atatürk took all schools under the control of the Turkish government and abolished the privileges granted to foreigners. He carried out a [[nationalization]] policy in economy, a Turkish supremacist policy called "Turkish History Thesis" (''Türk Tarih Tezi'') in historiography, and a Turkicization policy against ethnic minorities. He changed the place names in Greek, Armenian, Kurdish, Zazaki, Arabic, Syriac, Yazidi, Laz, and Georgian languages to Turkish language (such as Constantinople became İstanbul, Smyrna became İzmir, and Angora became Ankara). It is estimated that most of Turks are [[Muslim]] (and most of them are conservative), but Atatürk established a [[secular]] rule based on a strong military. He abolished the [[sharia law]], outlawed [[polygamy]], and gave women equal rights including the right to vote and hold government positions. As a result of his efforts, Turkey was the only Muslim-majority country to independently hold democratic elections. [[Islamism|Islamists]] all over the world hate him because of his secularist reforms.<ref>Umut Azak: ''Islam and Secularism in Turkey: Kemalism, Religion and the Nation State.'' I.B.Tauris, 2010, p. 134.</ref> However, he inspired some Muslims, the moderate ones.<ref>{{cite book |author = M. Şükrü Hanioğlu |title = Atatürk: An Intellectual Biography |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dNFhZzug6tMC&pg=PA128 |accessdate = June 5, 2013 |date = May 9, 2011 |publisher = Princeton University Press |isbn = 978-1-4008-3817-2 |page = 128 }}</ref>

Atatürk read and was influenced by the works of [[Jean Jacques Rousseau]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=H-8wAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA197 The Rising Cresent: Turkey Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow]</ref> From September 9, 1923 to November 10, 1938, he was also leader of the Republican People's Party, the largest secularist political party in Turkey.

[[Samuel P. Huntington]] defines "Kemalism" as a response to attempts at "reconciliation of [[Islam]] and [[Modernization|modernity]]", or to modernize Islam without Westernization.

Harold C. Armstrong, a British army officer who was captured by the Ottomans in World War I, described Atatürk as follows:
<blockquote>''He is a man born out of due season, an anachronism, a throw-back to the Tartars of the Steppes, a fierce elemental force of a man. Had he been born in the centuries when all Central Asia was on the move he would have ridden out with Sulyman Shah under the banner of the Grey Wolf, and with the heart and instincts of a Grey Wolf. With his military genius, and his ruthless determination unweakened by sentiments, loyalties or moralities, he might well have been a [[Timur|Tamerlane]] or a [[Genghis Khan|Jenghis Khan]] riding at the head of great hordes of wild horsemen, conquering countries, devouring and destroying cities, and filling in the intervals of peace between campaigns with wild and hideous orgies of wine and women.'' [http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.201032/page/n333/mode/2up ''Grey Wolf: Mustafa Kemal – An intimate study of a dictator'' (fifth cheap edition, July 1935), p. 333]</blockquote>

On a Turkish website – The Turkish War of Independence and the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey:
<blockquote>''The National Assembly which first convened on 23 April 1920 in Ankara was the first clue to the Turkish Republic. The successful management of the War of Independence by this assembly accelerated the founding of the new Turkish State. On 1 November 1922, the offices of the Sultan and caliph were severed from one other and the former was abolished. There was no longer any administrative ties with the Ottoman Empire. On 29 October 1923, Turkish Republic was formally proclaimed and Atatürk was unanimously elected as its first President. On 30 October 1923, the first government of the Republic was formed by İsmet İnönü. Turkish Republic started to grow on the foundations of the twin principles "Sovereignty, unconditionally belongs to the nation" and "peace at home, peace in the world".'' [http://www.ataturk.com/content/view/24/43/ Biography of Atatürk]</blockquote>

== See also ==
*[[Meiji Restoration]]
*[[Enlightened despotism]]
*[[Adolf Hitler]]
*[[Benito Mussolini]]

== Bibliography ==
* Balfour, Patrick. ''Atatürk: The Rebirth of a Nation'' (1964).
* Çandar, Cengiz, and David Pryce-Jones. "Atatürk's Ambiguous Legacy." ''Wilson Quarterly'' 2000 24(4): 88-96. Issn: 0363-3276 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]
* Eissenstat, Howard. "History and Historiography: Politics and Memory in the Turkish Republic." ''Contemporary European History'' 2003 12(1): 93-105. Issn: 0960-7773 Fulltext: in Cambridge journals.
* Karpat, Kemal H. "The Personality of Atatürk," ''The American Historical Review'', Vol. 90, No. 4 (Oct., 1985), pp. 893–899 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-8762(198510)90%3A4%3C893%3ATPOA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Q in JSTOR]
* Kazancıgil, Ali and Özbudun, Ergün, eds. ''Atatürk: Founder of a Modern State.'' Archon, 1982. 243 pp.
* Kedourie, Sylvia, ed. ''Seventy-Five Years of the Turkish Republic.'' (1999). 237 pp.
* Kedourie, Sylvia. ''Turkey Before and After Atatürk: Internal and External Affairs'' (1989) 282pp; [https://books.google.com/books?id=OXRnTgmrmC0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:ataturk&num=30&as_brr=0&sig=dFTndXR43BukG1RtrNY4GvrcTeo excerpts and text search]
* Kinross, Patrick. ''Atatürk: The Rebirth of a Nation'' (1965) 615pp
* Macfie, A.L. ''Atatürk'' (1995) 275pp [https://www.amazon.com/Ataturk-Profiles-Power-L-Macfie/dp/0582078636/ref=cm_lmf_img_3 excerpt and text search]
* Mango, Andrew. ''Atatürk: The Biography of the Founder of Modern Turkey'' (1999) [https://www.amazon.com/Ataturk-Biography-founder-Modern-Turkey/dp/158567334X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196105830&sr=8-1rpt and text search]
* Tachau, Frank. ''Kemal Atatürk'' (1987)
* Trask, Roger R. "The United States and Turkish Nationalism: Investments and Technical Aid during the Atatürk Era," ''Business History Review,'' Vol. 38, No. 1, International Government-Business Issue (Spring, 1964), pp. 58–77 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0007-6805(196421)38%3A1%3C58%3ATUSATN%3E2.0.CO%3B2-D in JSTOR]
* Volkan, Vamık D., and Norman Itzko. ''The Immortal Atatürk – A Psychobiography'' (1984)
* Weiker, Walter F. ''The Modernization of Turkey: From Atatürk to the Present Day'' (1981) [http://www.questia.com/read/43183327 online edition]

==References==
{{reflist|1}}

== External links ==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YVXs1LAenA A biography of Atatürk]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9EkewZea3k Incredible Turk (1958) – The first documentary on Atatürk]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RfCGap0Pic John F. Kennedy – Speech about Atatürk]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeuDssLUOwY Greek Genocide song – Kemal (English subs)]
*[https://www.docdroid.net/xaZwuc0/stefan-ihrig-ataturk-in-the-nazi-imagination-pdf Stefan Ihrig – Atatürk in the Nazi Imagination]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atatürk, Mustafa Kemal}}

[[Category:Turkey]]
[[Category:World War I]]
[[Category:Military Commanders]]
[[Category:Heads of Government]]
[[Category:Heads of State]]
[[Category:Nationalists]]
[[Category:Dictators]]
[[Category:Atheists]]

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

2022-05-06T13:55:15Z

Andrewlee:

{{Dictator bio
| image =[[Image:Mustafa Kemal Ataturk 1919 Sivas Congress (cropped).jpg|200px]]
| name =Kemal Atatürk
| birth =1881 Salonica, Ottoman Macedonia, Ottoman Empire
| parents =Ali Rıza Efendi Zübeyde Hanım
| religion =[[Sunni]]sm (rejected) Atheist
| spouse =Latife Uşaklıgil (1923–1925)
| children =9 (adopted)
| death =November 10, 1938 Dolmabahçe Palace, Istanbul, Turkey
| deathmanner =Cirrhosis
| education =Ottoman War Academy Imperial Military Staff College
| country =[[Turkey]]
| military =Ottoman Army (1893–1919) Army of the Grand National Assembly (1920–1923) Turkish Army (1923–1927)
| rank =Major General (Ottoman Army) Marshal (Turkish Army)
| burial =Ethnography Museum, Ankara (November 21, 1938 – November 10, 1953) Anıtkabir, Ankara (since November 10, 1953)
| polbeliefs =[[Republicanism]] [[Nationalism]] [[Secularism]] [[Populism]] [[Statism]] [[Reform]]ism [[Fascism]]<ref>http://www.ardarutyun.org/?p=4140&lang=en</ref>
| party =Republican People's Party (''Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi'')
| dictatordate =October 29, 1923
| war =Revolt against the Allies and the legal government in Constantinople ("Turkish War of Independence")
| deathnumber =264,000 Greek civilians 60,000–250,000 Armenian civilians Thousands of Ottomans supporting the legal Constantinople government
}}
'''Kemal Atatürk'''<ref>[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Atat%C3%BCrk%27%C3%BCn_993_814_seri_numaral%C4%B1_n%C3%BCfus_c%C3%BCzdan%C4%B1.jpg ID card from 1934]</ref> (or alternatively written as '''Kamâl Atatürk''';<ref>[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Atat%C3%BCrk%27%C3%BCn_993_815_seri_numaral%C4%B1_n%C3%BCfus_c%C3%BCzdan%C4%B1.jpg ID card from 1935]</ref> 1881 – November 10, 1938), also known as '''Mustafa Kemal Pasha''' ([[Turkish language|Turkish]]: ''Mustafa Kemal Paşa'') and often called '''Mustafa Kemal Atatürk''', was a Turkish military commander of the Ottoman Army during [[World War I]] and the founding father of the Turkish [[nation state]]. After the defeat of the [[Central Powers]] in World War I, he started a [[Nationalism|nationalist]] revolt against the legal Ottoman Imperial Government in [[Constantinople]] and the authorized Allied Powers. In this rebellion, he got stronger with the support of Ottoman army officers, politicians, and people. He won his war against Constantinople and the Allies, then founded the Republic of [[Turkey]]. He inspired [[Adolf Hitler]] with these actions.<ref>In his [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler%27s_Address_to_the_Reichstag_(4_May_1941) address to the Reichstag on May 4, 1941], [[Adolf Hitler]] said: {{cquote|"Turkey had been our ally in the [[World War I|World War]]. Its unfortunate result was as heavy a burden for Turkey as it was for us. The great and ingenious reconstructor of the new Turkey gave his Allies, beaten by fate, the first example of resurrection. While Turkey, thanks to the realistic attitude of her State leadership, preserved her independent attitude Yugoslavia fell a victim to British intrigues."}}</ref><ref>In a [https://www.docdroid.net/xaZwuc0/stefan-ihrig-ataturk-in-the-nazi-imagination-pdf#page=125 meeting with a delegation of Turkish politicians and journalists on April 20, 1938], Hitler said: {{cquote|"Atatürk was the first to show that it is possible to mobilize and regenerate the resources that a country has lost. In this respect Atatürk was a teacher; [[Benito Mussolini|Mussolini]] was his first and I his second student."}}</ref> Atatürk was a heavy drinker and smoker.<ref>https://www.forbes.com/2008/12/05/turkey-ataturk-movie-oped-cx_aa_1207aydintasbas.html?sh=21aed86e3b64</ref>

==Biography==
Atatürk was a successful division commander in the [[Battle of Gallipoli]]. The Allies defeated the [[Ottoman Empire]] and arranged for its partition. Thereupon, after a few congresses, he led an organized political resistance in Asia Minor by establishing a new assembly and government in [[Ankara]] (at that time Angora). Atatürk defeated the forces sent by the Allies, thus emerging victorious from what was later referred to as the "Turkish War of Independence" (in fact, this war was a revolt against the victorious Allied Powers of WWI and the legal government of the Ottoman Empire in [[Constantinople]]). Then he deposed the last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire in 1922 and became the first President of Turkey in 1923.

Atatürk led a political, legal, religious, cultural, social, and economic revolution that replaced some of the traditionalist and medieval social and political systems with ones that were modern, scientific (also nationalistic pseudoscientific), secularized, and based on the [[rationalism|rationalist]] [[Enlightenment]]. He abolished the [[caliphate]], a remnant of the former monarchy, and exiled the Ottoman dynasty from Turkey. Atatürk took all schools under the control of the Turkish government and abolished the privileges granted to foreigners. He carried out a [[nationalization]] policy in economy, a Turkish supremacist policy called "Turkish History Thesis" (''Türk Tarih Tezi'') in historiography, and a Turkicization policy against ethnic minorities. He changed the place names in Greek, Armenian, Kurdish, Zazaki, Arabic, Syriac, Yazidi, Laz, and Georgian languages to Turkish language (such as Constantinople became İstanbul, Smyrna became İzmir, and Angora became Ankara). It is estimated that most of Turks are [[Muslim]] (and most of them are conservative), but Atatürk established a [[secular]] rule based on a strong military. He abolished the [[sharia law]], outlawed [[polygamy]], and gave women equal rights including the right to vote and hold government positions. As a result of his efforts, Turkey was the only Muslim-majority country to independently hold democratic elections. [[Islamism|Islamists]] all over the world hate him because of his secularist reforms.<ref>Umut Azak: ''Islam and Secularism in Turkey: Kemalism, Religion and the Nation State.'' I.B.Tauris, 2010, p. 134.</ref> However, he inspired some Muslims, the moderate ones.<ref>{{cite book |author = M. Şükrü Hanioğlu |title = Atatürk: An Intellectual Biography |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dNFhZzug6tMC&pg=PA128 |accessdate = June 5, 2013 |date = May 9, 2011 |publisher = Princeton University Press |isbn = 978-1-4008-3817-2 |page = 128 }}</ref>

Atatürk read and was influenced by the works of [[Jean Jacques Rousseau]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=H-8wAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA197 The Rising Cresent: Turkey Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow]</ref> From September 9, 1923 to November 10, 1938, he was also leader of the Republican People's Party, the largest secularist political party in Turkey.

[[Samuel P. Huntington]] defines "Kemalism" as a response to attempts at "reconciliation of [[Islam]] and [[Modernization|modernity]]", or to modernize Islam without Westernization.

Harold C. Armstrong, a British army officer who was captured by the Ottomans in World War I, described Atatürk as follows:
<blockquote>''He is a man born out of due season, an anachronism, a throw-back to the Tartars of the Steppes, a fierce elemental force of a man. Had he been born in the centuries when all Central Asia was on the move he would have ridden out with Sulyman Shah under the banner of the Grey Wolf, and with the heart and instincts of a Grey Wolf. With his military genius, and his ruthless determination unweakened by sentiments, loyalties or moralities, he might well have been a [[Timur|Tamerlane]] or a [[Genghis Khan|Jenghis Khan]] riding at the head of great hordes of wild horsemen, conquering countries, devouring and destroying cities, and filling in the intervals of peace between campaigns with wild and hideous orgies of wine and women.'' [http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.201032/page/n333/mode/2up ''Grey Wolf: Mustafa Kemal – An intimate study of a dictator'' (fifth cheap edition, July 1935), p. 333]</blockquote>

On a Turkish website – The Turkish War of Independence and the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey:
<blockquote>''The National Assembly which first convened on 23 April 1920 in Ankara was the first clue to the Turkish Republic. The successful management of the War of Independence by this assembly accelerated the founding of the new Turkish State. On 1 November 1922, the offices of the Sultan and caliph were severed from one other and the former was abolished. There was no longer any administrative ties with the Ottoman Empire. On 29 October 1923, Turkish Republic was formally proclaimed and Atatürk was unanimously elected as its first President. On 30 October 1923, the first government of the Republic was formed by İsmet İnönü. Turkish Republic started to grow on the foundations of the twin principles "Sovereignty, unconditionally belongs to the nation" and "peace at home, peace in the world".'' [http://www.ataturk.com/content/view/24/43/ Biography of Atatürk]</blockquote>

== See also ==
*[[Meiji Restoration]]
*[[Enlightened despotism]]
*[[Adolf Hitler]]
*[[Benito Mussolini]]
*[[Armenian Genocide]]

== Bibliography ==
* Balfour, Patrick. ''Atatürk: The Rebirth of a Nation'' (1964).
* Çandar, Cengiz, and David Pryce-Jones. "Atatürk's Ambiguous Legacy." ''Wilson Quarterly'' 2000 24(4): 88-96. Issn: 0363-3276 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]
* Eissenstat, Howard. "History and Historiography: Politics and Memory in the Turkish Republic." ''Contemporary European History'' 2003 12(1): 93-105. Issn: 0960-7773 Fulltext: in Cambridge journals.
* Karpat, Kemal H. "The Personality of Atatürk," ''The American Historical Review'', Vol. 90, No. 4 (Oct., 1985), pp. 893–899 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-8762(198510)90%3A4%3C893%3ATPOA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Q in JSTOR]
* Kazancıgil, Ali and Özbudun, Ergün, eds. ''Atatürk: Founder of a Modern State.'' Archon, 1982. 243 pp.
* Kedourie, Sylvia, ed. ''Seventy-Five Years of the Turkish Republic.'' (1999). 237 pp.
* Kedourie, Sylvia. ''Turkey Before and After Atatürk: Internal and External Affairs'' (1989) 282pp; [https://books.google.com/books?id=OXRnTgmrmC0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:ataturk&num=30&as_brr=0&sig=dFTndXR43BukG1RtrNY4GvrcTeo excerpts and text search]
* Kinross, Patrick. ''Atatürk: The Rebirth of a Nation'' (1965) 615pp
* Macfie, A.L. ''Atatürk'' (1995) 275pp [https://www.amazon.com/Ataturk-Profiles-Power-L-Macfie/dp/0582078636/ref=cm_lmf_img_3 excerpt and text search]
* Mango, Andrew. ''Atatürk: The Biography of the Founder of Modern Turkey'' (1999) [https://www.amazon.com/Ataturk-Biography-founder-Modern-Turkey/dp/158567334X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196105830&sr=8-1rpt and text search]
* Tachau, Frank. ''Kemal Atatürk'' (1987)
* Trask, Roger R. "The United States and Turkish Nationalism: Investments and Technical Aid during the Atatürk Era," ''Business History Review,'' Vol. 38, No. 1, International Government-Business Issue (Spring, 1964), pp. 58–77 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0007-6805(196421)38%3A1%3C58%3ATUSATN%3E2.0.CO%3B2-D in JSTOR]
* Volkan, Vamık D., and Norman Itzko. ''The Immortal Atatürk – A Psychobiography'' (1984)
* Weiker, Walter F. ''The Modernization of Turkey: From Atatürk to the Present Day'' (1981) [http://www.questia.com/read/43183327 online edition]

==References==
{{reflist|1}}

== External links ==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YVXs1LAenA A biography of Atatürk]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9EkewZea3k Incredible Turk (1958) – The first documentary on Atatürk]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RfCGap0Pic John F. Kennedy – Speech about Atatürk]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeuDssLUOwY Greek Genocide song – Kemal (English subs)]
*[https://www.docdroid.net/xaZwuc0/stefan-ihrig-ataturk-in-the-nazi-imagination-pdf Stefan Ihrig – Atatürk in the Nazi Imagination]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atatürk, Mustafa Kemal}}

[[Category:Turkey]]
[[Category:World War I]]
[[Category:Military Commanders]]
[[Category:Heads of Government]]
[[Category:Heads of State]]
[[Category:Nationalists]]
[[Category:Dictators]]
[[Category:Atheists]]

Turkiye

2022-04-29T17:20:12Z

Andrewlee: /* References */Serious accusations. If one wishes to be fair, it is necessary to put some of these categories in the articles of many countries.

For the animal with the same name see [[Turkey (bird)]]

{{Country
|name =''Türkiye Cumhuriyeti''
|map =Turkey rel 2006.jpg
|flag =Flag of Turkey.png
|arms =Emblem of Turkey.svg.png
|capital =Ankara
|capital-raw =
|government =Republic
|government-raw =
|language =Turkish
|king =
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =
|pm-raw =
|area =302,535 sq mi
|pop =85,000,000 (2020)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =$794,000,000,000 (2021)
|gdp-year =
|gdp-pc =$9,327 (2021)
|currency =Turkish lira
|idd =
|tld =
}}
The '''Republic of Turkey''' ('''Republic of Turkiye''') is a transcontinental country occupying the Anatolian Peninsula of [[Western Asia]], as well as a small section of Southeastern [[Europe]] at the Bosporus Strait.

Turkey has a lot of cultural heritage places. It is the land of the Seven Churches of [[Book of Revelation|Revelation]]. 89.5% of its people are [[Muslim]]s<ref>[https://t24.com.tr/haber/optimar-dan-din-inanc-anketi-yuzde-89-allah-in-varligina-ve-birligine-inaniyor,821459 Optimar'dan din-inanç anketi: Yüzde 89 Allah'ın varlığına ve birliğine inanıyor]</ref> and religion doesn't play a pivotal role in their lives. Most of the Turks are said to be cultural or nominal Muslims and continue to practice [[Shamanism|shamanistic]] traditions from pre-Islamic heritage. Although, [[atheism]] and [[deism]] are increasing in Turkey, there is a growing amount of [[Islamism]], largely due to [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan|Erdoğan]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2018/04/turkey-why-so-many-turks-are-losing-faith-in-islam.html|title=Why so many Turks are losing faith in Islam|last=Akyol|first=Mustafa|date=2018-04-16|work=Al-Monitor|access-date=2018-04-21|language=en-us}}</ref><ref>[https://www.dw.com/en/atheism-grows-in-turkey-as-recep-tayyip-erdogan-urges-islam/a-47018029 Atheism grows in Turkey as Recep Tayyip Erdogan urges Islam]</ref><ref>[http://asianews.it/news-en/The-number-of-atheists-increasing-in-Turkey-45956.html The number of atheists increasing in Turkey]</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43981745 The young Turks rejecting Islam]</ref><ref>https://www.thecairoreview.com/essays/turkeys-pan-islamist-foreign-policy/</ref>

Turkey continued the [[Western world|West]]-oriented [[modernization]] initiated by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] dynasty and statesmen. Many things in Turkey contain a mixture of the West and the East, the old and the new, the traditional and the modern. When you visit even the smallest city in Turkey no matter how little its population is, you will find that different cultural elements, traditions, beliefs, languages or dialects live.<ref>[https://www.studyinturkey.gov.tr/StudyinTurkey/ShowDetail?rID=ctfC0sgwTeQ=&&cId=PE4Nr0mMoY4= Culture - Study in Turkey]</ref> Even those who have not done anything related to [[Islam]] in their lives see being Muslim as a part of their identity. Therefore, they may have a negative attitude towards [[Christianity]] or other religions. Because of historical hostilities and bigotry, Turkey is virulently [[Anti-Christian sentiment|anti-Christian]].<ref>https://www.jihadwatch.org/2020/03/turkey-muslims-screaming-allahu-akbar-disrupt-christian-funeral-desecrate-christian-graves</ref> Turkey used to be a secular state but has now adopted Islamic Jihadism and it incites against Christians and the other non-[[Sunni]] religious minorities due to radical nature of Islamic cultural background. The governing [[Justice and Development Party|AKP]] in Turkey depicts Christians as a "threat to the stability of the nation". Turkish Christian citizens have often been stereotyped as not "real Turks" but as "Western collaborators" by this bigoted and prejudiced point of view.<ref>[https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/israel-zionism/2020/12/how-yasir-arafat-drove-christians-from-bethlehem/ How Yasir Arafat Drove Christians from Bethlehem] D. Weinberg, Mosaic Mag., Dec. 28, 2020.</ref>

==History==
[[Image:St. Sophie Turkey.jpg|right|280px|thumb|Hagia Sophia, Istanbul.]]
[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Mustafa Kemal Pasha]], celebrated by the Turkish State as a Turkish [[World War I]] hero and later known as Atatürk ("Father-Turk"), led the founding of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 after the collapse of the 600-year-old [[Ottoman Empire]] and a three-year war of independence. The empire, which at its peak controlled vast stretches of Northern Africa, Southeastern Europe, and Western Asia, had failed to keep pace with European social and technological developments. The rise of national consciousness impelled several national groups within the Empire to seek independence as nation-states, leading to the empire's fragmentation. This process culminated in the disastrous Ottoman participation in World War I as a German ally. Defeated, shorn of much of its former territory, and partly occupied by forces of the victorious European states, the Ottoman structure was repudiated by Turkish nationalists brought together under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal. The nationalists expelled invading Greek, Armenian, French, British, and Italian forces from Anatolia and Turkish Thrace in a bitter war—and with a diplomatic struggle. After the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey the temporal and religious ruling institutions of the old empire (the sultanate and caliphate) were abolished.

The leaders of the new republic concentrated on consolidating their power and modernizing and Westernizing what had been the empire's core—Asian Anatolia and a part of European Thrace. Social, political, linguistic, and economic reforms and attitudes decreed by Atatürk from 1924-1934 continue to be referred to as the ideological base of modern Turkey. In the post-Atatürk era, and especially after the military coup of 1960, this ideology came to be known as "Kemalism" and his reforms began to be referred to as "revolutions." Kemalism comprises a Turkish form of secularism, strong nationalism, statism, and to a degree a western orientation. The continued validity and applicability of Kemalism are the subject of lively debate in Turkey's political life. The current ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) comes from a tradition that challenges many of the Kemalist precepts and is driven in its reform efforts by a desire to achieve EU accession.

Turkey entered [[World War II]] on the Allied side until shortly before the war ended, becoming a charter member of the [[United Nations]]. Difficulties faced by [[Greece]] after World War II in quelling a communist rebellion and demands by the [[Soviet Union]] for military bases in the Turkish Straits prompted the United States to declare the [[Truman Doctrine]] in 1947. The doctrine enunciated American intentions to guarantee the security of Turkey and Greece and resulted in large scale U.S. military and economic aid under the [[Marshall Plan]]. After participating with United Nations forces in the [[Korean War|Korean conflict]], Turkey in 1952 joined the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] (NATO). Turkey is currently a [[European Union]] candidate, although this has been clouded by their refusal to acknowledge the [[Armenian genocide]].

==Disputed territories==
===Kurdistan===
:{{Main article|Kurdistan}}

===Liwa Iskanderoun (Hatay)===
In 1939, Turkey annexed Hatay State, present-day Hatay Province. Formerly it was ''Liwa Iskanderoun'' of the Mandate for Syria and Lebanon from 1921 to 1938. However, Syrian maps continue to include Hatay as part of Syrian territory.<ref>https://carnegie-mec.org/diwan/54340?lang=en</ref>

==People==
[[File:Istiklal Caddesi 06 24 09 0068.jpg|thumb|right|A busy day on İstiklal Avenue, Istanbul.]]
Modern Turkey encompasses bustling [[cosmopolitan]] centers, pastoral farming villages, barren wastelands, peaceful Aegean coastlines, and steep mountain regions. More than half of Turkey's population lives in urban areas that juxtapose Western lifestyles with more traditional ways of life.

Turkey is officially a [[secular state|secular]] country with no official religion since the constitutional amendment in 1928 and later strengthened by Atatürk's Reforms and the appliance of laicism by the country's founder and first president [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]] on February 5, 1937. Due to oppression of [[Christianity]], Turkey's population is nearly entirely (at least cultural) [[Muslim]]. Most Turkish Muslims follow the [[Sunni]] traditions of Islam, although a significant number follow Alevi and [[Shiite]] traditions. Questions regarding role of religion in society and government, the role of linguistic and ethnic identity, and the public's expectation to live in security dominate public discourse. Turkish citizens who assert a [[Kurds|Kurdish]] identity constitute an ethnic and linguistic group that is estimated at up to 12 million in number.
[[File:Iskenderun church.jpg|thumb|right|St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in İskenderun, Hatay.]]
*Population (2018): 82 million.
*Annual population growth rate (2017 est.): 1.24%.
*Ethnic groups: Turkish, Kurdish, other.
*Religions: Muslim (majority), Christian, [[Baha'i Faith|Baha'i]], and Jewish.
*Languages: Turkish (official and majority), Kurdish, Zaza, Arabic, Armenian, Greek.
*Education: Years compulsory—8. Attendance—97.6%. Literacy—86.5%. ''(it's not current data)''
*Health: Infant mortality rate—39.4/1,000. Life expectancy—68.5 yrs. ''(it's not current data)''
*Work force (23 million): Agriculture—35.6%; industry—17.5%; services—47.2%. ''(it's not current data)''

==Government and political conditions==
The 1982 Constitution, drafted by the military in the wake of a 1980 military coup, proclaims Turkey's system of government as [[democracy|democratic]], [[secular state|secular]], and [[Parliamentary Republic|parliamentary]]. A [[Presidential Government|presidential system]] was adopted with a referendum in 2017; the new system came into effect with the presidential election in 2018 and gives the President complete control of the executive, including the power to issue decrees, appoint his own cabinet, draw up the budget, dissolve parliament by calling early elections, and pack the bureaucracy and the courts with political appointees. The office of Prime Minister has been abolished and its powers (together with those of the Cabinet) have been transferred to the President, who is the head of state and is elected for a five-year term by direct elections. [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] is the first president elected by direct voting. Turkey's constitution governs the legal framework of the country. It sets out the main principles of government and establishes Turkey as a unitary centralized state.

Executive power is exercized by the President, while the legislative power is vested in the unicameral parliament, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The judiciary is nominally independent from the executive and the legislature, but the constitutional changes that came into effect with the referendums in 2007, 2010 and 2017 gave larger powers to the President and the ruling party for appointing or dismissing judges and prosecutors. The Constitutional Court is charged with ruling on the conformity of laws and decrees with the constitution. The Council of State is the tribunal of last resort for administrative cases, and the High Court of Appeals for all others.
[[File:Turkish Parliament in Ankara.jpg|thumb|300px|The Parliament in Ankara.]]

Universal suffrage for both sexes has been applied throughout Turkey since 1933 and before most countries, and every Turkish citizen who has turned 18 years of age has the right to vote. There are 600 members of parliament who are elected for a five-year term by a party-list proportional representation system from 85 electoral districts. The Constitutional Court can strip the public financing of political parties that it deems anti-secular or separatist, or ban their existence altogether. The electoral threshold is 10 percent of the votes.

Supporters of [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Atatürk]]'s reforms are called Kemalists, as distinguished from [[Islamism|Islamists]], representing the two diverging views regarding the role of religion in legislation, education and public life. The Kemalist view supports a form of democracy with a laicist [[constitution]] and Westernized secular lifestyle, while maintaining the necessity of state intervention in the economy, education and other public services. Since its foundation as a republic in 1923, Turkey has developed a strong tradition of secularism. However, since the 1980s, issues such as income inequality and class distinction have given rise to Islamic [[populism]], a movement that supports a larger role for religion in government policies, and in theory supports obligation to authority, communal solidarity and social justice; though what that entails in practice is often contested. Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the [[Justice and Development Party]] has been described as becoming increasingly authoritarian. Prior to the constitutional referendum in 2017 the Council of Europe saw Turkey drifting towards an autocracy, warning of a "dramatic regression of its democratic order". Many elements in the constitutional reform package that was approved with the referendum in 2017 have increased concerns in the European Union regarding democracy and the separation of powers in Turkey.

As of 2017 the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index rates Turkey at 4.88 (on a 0–10 scale), classifying Turkey as a Hybrid Regime. In 2018, Freedom House rated Turkey at 32 (on a 0–100 scale) as Not Free.

Human-right abuses, especially against [[Christians]] remains a problem<ref>http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78844.htm</ref> and the frequency of violent attacks on Christian ministers and priests is still high.<ref>http://washingtontimes.com/upi/20070418-030533-9552</ref><ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5139408.stm</ref>

The [[Kurdish Worker Party]] (PKK), an [[far-left|extreme]] [[leftist]] ethnic nationalist and [[separatism|separatist]] –originally [[Marxism-Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]]– [[terrorism|terrorist]] organization, founded in 1978, seeks the foundation of an independent [[socialism|socialist]] [[Kurds|Kurdish]] state.<ref name="Jongerden">{{Cite journal|last=Jongerden|first=Joost|date=2017-10-01|title=Gender equality and radical democracy: Contractions and conflicts in relation to the "new paradigm" within the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)|url=https://journals.openedition.org/anatoli/618|journal=Anatoli. De l'Adriatique à la Caspienne. Territoires, Politique, Sociétés|language=en|issue=8|pages=233–256|doi=10.4000/anatoli.618|issn=2111-4064}}</ref> It is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey,<ref name="RadioFrance">{{cite news|url=http://www.english.rfi.fr/asia-pacific/20140116-turkey-spy-agency-denies-role-paris-kurds-murder-launches-probe|title=Turkey spy agency denies role in Paris Kurds murder, launches probe|date=16 January 2014|publisher=Radio France Internationale|access-date=5 February 2014}}</ref> the [[United States]],<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|title=Foreign Terrorist Organizations|url=https://www.state.gov/foreign-terrorist-organizations/|access-date=2021-03-10|website=United States Department of State|language=en-US}}</ref> the [[European Union]],<ref name=":10">{{Cite web|title=Turkey 2019 Report|url=https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/sites/near/files/20190529-turkey-report.pdf|access-date=16 December 2019|website=ec.europa.eu|page=5}}</ref> and some other countries.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web|last=department|first=Attorney-General's|title=Listed terrorist organisations|url=https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205054738/http://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx|archive-date=5 February 2016|access-date=18 December 2019|website=www.nationalsecurity.gov.au|language=en-au}}</ref><ref name="Japan_ban">{{cite web|title=MOFA: Implementation of the Measures including the Freezing of Assets against Terrorists and the Like|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406134416/http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html|archive-date=6 April 2013|access-date=21 November 2013}}</ref> The PKK was formed as part of the Kurdish nationalist schism within the Turkish [[communism|communist]] movement<ref name="Jongerden"/> and the growing discontent over the suppression of Turkey's Kurds, in an effort to establish linguistic, cultural, and political rights for the Kurdish minority.<ref name="Palgrave Macmillan">{{cite book|last1=Joseph|first1=J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G06BDAAAQBAJ|title=Turkey and the European Union internal dynamics and external challenges|date=2006|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|isbn=0230598587|location=Basingstoke [England]|page=100}}</ref> Following the military coup of 1980, the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in public and private life to prevent separatism.<ref name="NYTK">Toumani, Meline. [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/magazine/17turkey-t.html?ex=1361854800&en=df64cf85326e2103&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink Minority Rules], ''[[New York Times]]'', 17 February 2008</ref> Many who spoke, published, or sang in Kurdish were arrested and imprisoned.<ref name="Cambridge University Press">{{cite book|last1=Aslan|first1=Senem|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wTAWBQAAQBAJ|title=Nation Building in Turkey and Morocco|date=2014|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1107054608|page=134}}</ref> The PKK's response to these policies has been the bombing of downtowns, the massacre of civilians, and the destruction of schools and hospitals in the Kurdish-majority cities of Turkey.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10576100701558620|doi = 10.1080/10576100701558620|title = The Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) as Criminal Syndicate: Funding Terrorism through Organized Crime, A Case Study|year = 2007|last1 = Roth|first1 = Mitchel P.|last2 = Sever|first2 = Murat|journal = Studies in Conflict & Terrorism|volume = 30|issue = 10|pages = 901–920|s2cid = 110700560}}</ref><ref name="amnestysecurity"/><ref name="childsoldiers"/> It has faced condemnation by some countries and human rights organizations for the killing of teachers and civil servants,<ref name="amnestysecurity">{{Cite web | url = https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a9ea0.html | title = No Security Without Human Rights | publisher = [[Amnesty International]] | access-date = 1 February 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Öğretmen Necmettin Yılmaz'ın Öldürülmesini Kınıyoruz!|url=https://www.ihd.org.tr/ogretmen-necmettin-yilmazin-oldurulmesini-kiniyoruz/|access-date=2021-03-12|website=[[İnsan Hakları Derneği]]|language=tr}}</ref> using [[Suicide attack|suicide bombers]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Foreign diplomats, countries condemn Cizre attack - World News|url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/foreign-diplomats-countries-condemn-cizre-attack-103271|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Hürriyet Daily News|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=PKK claims deadly suicide bombing at Turkish police station|url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-claims-responsibility-suicide-bombing-left-11-dead-turkey-1381604350|access-date=27 December 2018|website=Middle East Eye|archive-date=14 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214114351/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-claims-responsibility-suicide-bombing-left-11-dead-turkey-1381604350|url-status=dead}}</ref> and recruiting child soldiers.<ref name="childsoldiers">{{Cite web | url = https://www.refworld.org/docid/498805c428.html | title = Child Soldiers Global Report 2001 - Turkey | publisher = [[Child Soldiers International]] | access-date = 1 February 2021 }}</ref><ref name="HRWCS">{{Cite web|date=2016-12-22|title=Iraq: Armed Groups Using Child Soldiers|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/12/22/iraq-armed-groups-using-child-soldiers-0|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Human Rights Watch|language=en}}</ref> It was armed by the [[Obama administration]].<ref>https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/antifa-ypg-pkk-ties-threaten-national-peace-in-west/1899520</ref> The PKK trained [[Antifa]] fighters in Northern [[Syria]].<ref>https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/war-on-terror/ypgpkk-recruited-foreign-fighters-from-antifa-groups-in-western-countries-report-says</ref>

[[File:Ankara panorama Turkey.jpg|thumb|center|700px|The capital Ankara.]]

{{Clear}}
===Principal government officials===
*President of the Republic — Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
*Vice President of the Republic — Fuat Oktay

===Military===
Turkiye is a member of NATO and has the largest manpower contingent and reserves of all NATO members.

During the 2022 [[Russo-Ukraine war]] Turkiye supplied a large numbers of Bayraktar drones to the fascist [[Ukrainian]] regime. <ref>https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/04/27/drones-russia-ukraine-war-donbas/</ref> The Bayraktar is considered one of the most effective attack drones.

===Foreign relations===
[[File:Turkish girls laughing in calimanesti.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Turkish dancers in a festival in [[Romania]].]]
Turkey's primary political, economic, and security ties are with the West, although some voices call for a more "Eurasian" orientation.

Turkey entered NATO in 1952 and serves as the organization's vital eastern anchor, controlling the straits leading from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and sharing a border with Syria, Iraq, and Iran. A NATO headquarters is located in Izmir. Besides its relationships with NATO and the EU, Turkey is a member of the OECD, the Council of Europe, and OSCE. Turkey also is a member of the UN and the Islamic Conference Organization (OIC). In December 1999, Turkey became a candidate for EU membership. On December 17, 2004, the EU decided to begin formal accession negotiations with Turkey in October 2005.

Turkey and the EU formed a customs union beginning January 1, 1996. The agreement covers industrial and processed agricultural goods. Turkey is harmonizing its laws and regulations with EU standards. Turkey adopted the EU's Common External Tariff regime, effectively lowering Turkey's tariffs for third countries, including the United States.

On October 3, 2005, Turkey and the EU reached agreement for Turkey to begin negotiations on accession to the European Union. Turkey and EU officials have begun the process of screening Turkey's laws and policies in order to begin negotiating the individual chapters required for ultimate EU accession. However, this admission request has not been without criticism,<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2420697.stm</ref> including:
*Serious human rights violations<ref>http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20070419-0809-italy-turkey-eu.html</ref>
*Refusal to admit genocide of [[Armenia]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6043730.stm</ref>
*Refusal to recognize [[Cyprus]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6153186.stm</ref>
*Only 3% of Turkey is in [[Europe]]
*Threat of increasing [[Islamic]] fundamentalism<ref>http://www.freemuslims.org/news/article.php?article=1761</ref>

Turkey opened and provisionally closed in 2006 one EU negotiating chapter on science and technology. Another chapter on statistics was opened in February 2007, and two more are expected to be opened by July 1, 2007. Eight chapters, mostly related to trade, were suspended by the European Council in December 2006 after Turkey declined to open its ports and airports to Cypriot vessels—a commitment Turkey made as part of the Ankara Protocol and its EU Customs Union membership.

Turkey is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It has signed free trade agreements with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Israel, and many other countries. In 1992 Turkey and 10 other regional nations formed the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Council to expand regional trade and economic cooperation. Turkey chaired BSEC in 2007 and hosted in Istanbul the 15th BSEC Summit in June 2007.

====Relations with the United States====
U.S.-Turkish friendship dates to the late 18th century and was officially sealed by a treaty in 1830. The present close relationship began with the agreement of July 12, 1947, which implemented the Truman Doctrine. As part of the cooperative effort to further Turkish economic and military self-reliance, the United States has loaned and granted Turkey more than $12.5 billion in economic aid and more than $14 billion in military assistance.

U.S.-Turkish relations focus on areas such as strategic energy cooperation, trade and investment, security ties, regional stability, the global war on terrorism, and human rights progress. Relations were strained when Turkey refused in March 2003 to allow U.S. troops to deploy through its territory to Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom, but regained momentum steadily thereafter and mutual interests remain strong across a wide spectrum of issues. On July 5, 2006, Secretary Rice and then-Foreign Minister Gül signed a Shared Vision Statement to highlight the common values and goals between our two countries and to lay out a framework for increased strategic dialogue.

The U.S. and Turkey have had a Joint Economic Commission and a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, which last met in Washington in April 2007, for several years. In 2002, the two countries indicated their joint intent to upgrade bilateral economic relations by launching an Economic Partnership Commission, which last convened in Ankara in February 2007. In 2006, Turkish exports to the U.S. totaled about $5.4 billion, and U.S. exports to Turkey totaled $5.7 billion.

[[Condoleezza Rice]] ones described Turkey as “a vital and strategic partner of the United States”. But since the tenure of [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] these times are over.<ref>https://www.nationalreview.com/article/348422/erdo%C4%9Fan%E2%80%99s-agenda</ref> Erdoğan - a dictator<ref>[https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/11/turkey-erdogan-coup-hdp-pkk-syria-gulen-ypg Turkey's Fascist Slide] Güney Işıkara, Alp Kayserilioğlu, Max Zirngast, Jacobin, Nov 10, 2016.
Turkish president Erdoğan is wielding the state to attack anyone who won't capitulate to his authoritarian rule.</ref><ref>[https://m.imdb.com/title/tt7054718/ Erdogan: The Dictator's Republic], Imbd,
2017</ref><ref>[https://stockholmcf.org/turkish-journalist-goes-on-trial-for-insulting-erdogan-in-fascist-dictatorship-column/ Turkish journalist goes on trial for insulting Erdoğan in ‘fascist dictatorship’ column] SCF, June 28, 2018</ref><ref>[https://euobserver.com/political/147624 What does Erdoğan want?] Robert Debeuf, EU Observer, Mar 4, 2020.

"Shameful...unacceptable....blackmail...dictator." European leaders didn't spare their words to condemn Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan after his decision on Friday (28 February) to open its border with Greece and let refugees enter into Europe.

On Monday, Erdoğan stepped up his game warning that "millions" of refugees would come to Europe.

He also said he refused €1m in extra cash, saying "we don't want this money".

Despite this statement, former Nato secretary-general Willy Claes said on Belgian television that Erdogan is "a dictator" and that "all he wants is money".</ref><ref>[https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/11/16/biden-action-against-erdogan/amp/ Will Biden Turn His Words Against Dictator Erdoğan Into Action?]Adulrahman Taleb, Greek City Times, Nov 16, 2020.
Furthermore, Biden openly attacked dictator Erdoğan and called him an “autocrat” and promised that he will work with the opposition parties.</ref><ref>[https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/12/31/what-the-biden-presidency-means-for-turkey-and-erdogan-post-trump.html Erdogan should be very, very worried': What the Biden presidency means for Turkey] Natasha Turak, CNBC, Dec 31, 2020.
In an interview last January, Biden called Erdogan an “autocrat,” criticized his actions toward the Kurds..</ref><ref>[https://amp.france24.com/en/20190313-netanyahu-hits-back-turkeys-dictator-erdogan Netanyahu hits back at 'Turkey's dictator Erdogan'], ''France 24'', Mar 13, 2019.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday slammed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a "dictator" and "a joke"...</ref> ethnic-cleanser, oppressor, Islamist<ref>[https://www.theglobalist.com/turkey-recep-tayyip-erdogan-eu-nato-kurds-islamism/ J’Accuse Erdogan] Alon Ben-Meir, Globalist, July 9, 2020.

The weaker Recep Tayyip Erdogan is at home politically, the longer the list of the Turkish President’s transgressions gets.
<blockquote>
A preliminary list of Erdogan’s transgressions

For evidence, it is useful to assemble the list of transgressions that seem to be the only category Erdogan still seems to “excel” in.
Most fundamentally, Erdogan is violating every article of human rights in his own country, while being keen on destabilizing other countries by exploiting their weaknesses and resources in order to promote his nationalist agenda.

I count altogether 13 specific major transgressions:

1.Erdogan continues to commit gross human rights violations in Turkey by using the failed 2016 military coup as an excuse to silence the media.
Based on a judiciary that, for the most part, barely deserves that name, Erdogan has jailed over 150 journalists, incarcerated around 80,000 suspected of affiliation with the Gülen movement and purged 150,000 military officers and civil servants.

2.Erdogan engages in a systematic operation of ethnic cleansing against minorities in Turkey and northern Syria.

He invaded Syria to both prevent the Syrian Kurdish community from establishing autonomous rule, and to entrench for Turkey a permanent foothold in the country, which is bound to only prolong the conflict and further destabilize the region.

3.Erdogan systematically persecutes his own Kurdish community and continues a 50-year-old war against the PKK, which he views as a terrorist organization.

He also steadfastly refuses to resume negotiations with the Kurds — which account for as much as 20% of Turkey’s population — and end the carnage that has taken the lives of approximately 40,000 on both sides.

4.Erdogan purchased Russia’s S-400 air defense system which, once operational, NATO fears would seriously compromise the alliance’s intelligence sharing and technology — apart from being fully incompatible with NATO systems.

5.Erdogan invested heavily in promoting his Islamic agenda by supporting anti-Western Islamist extremist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and even ISIS.

6.Erdogan uses Islam as a political tool by building mosques and other Islamic theological institutions. He also sends his imams to teach and preach his brand of religious nationalism in many countries in the Middle East and the Balkans.

7.Erdogan violated U.S. sanctions against Iran by laundering up to $20 billion in an oil-for-gold scheme from 2012-2018, and he continues to cooperate and trade with Tehran in defiance of Western interests.

8.Erdogan made a deal with Putin in late 2019 to patrol northern Syria while working closely with Moscow and Tehran to delineate their spheres of influence in the country. He is thus leaving Syria de facto a divided state under their control, while significantly diminishing what’s left of Western influence.

9.Erdogan sent troops to support Libya’s Government of National Accord in an effort to establish a strong foothold in the country, exploiting its oil and gas and threatening the free flow of energy from the Eastern Mediterranean.

10.Erdogan violated a UN arms embargo while resisting NATO’s peace plans in Libya, including exercising extreme aggression against NATO ally France’s warship enforcing the embargo.

11.Erdogan blocked a NATO defense plan for the Baltics and Poland and regularly intimidates Greece, a NATO member state, violating the country’s airspace with Turkish military jets.

12.Erdogan is adamant about drilling for gas in the territorial waters of Cyprus and has begun plans to expand drilling off the coast of the Greek island of Crete.

In that pursuit, he remains at odds with Greece, Cyprus, Egypt and Israel over ownership of natural resources, threatening to use force to secure “his share” which could burgeon into a violent conflict.

13.Last but not least, Erdogan perpetuated the heated conflict with Cyprus over his demand that his puppet — the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus — enjoy equal political power to the Republic of Cyprus, which is four times larger in population and territory and is an EU member state.</blockquote></ref><ref>[https://www.politico.eu/article/mario-draghi-dictator-recep-tayyip-erdogan-sofagate/ Italy’s Draghi slams Erdoğan as a ‘dictator’ after Sofagate] Giorgio Leali, Politico, April 8, 2021.

Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi slammed Turkish Presiden Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.</ref> fascist.<ref>[https://turkeypurge.com/exiled-novelist-asli-erdogan-turkey-has-a-fascist-regime-it-is-not-yet-1940s-germany-but-1930s Exiled novelist Aslı Erdoğan: Turkey has a fascist regime. It is not yet 1940s Germany, but 1930s] TurkeyPurge, Aug 6, 2018</ref><ref>[https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article/turkey-turning-into-fascist-dictatorship-meps-told Turkey turning into "fascist dictatorship", MEPs told] Martin Banks, The Parliament Magazine,, Nov 8, 2016

A leading Turkish opposition parliamentarian says that Turkey has been turned into a "fascist dictatorship" under its President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.</ref><ref>[https://amp2.handelsblatt.com/recep-tayyip-erdogan-birth-of-a-dictator/23540062.html Recep Tayyip Erdogan: Birth of a Dictator] von John Blau, Handelsblatt, Dec 8, 2016.</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/19/jailed-turkish-editor-can-dundar-slams-eu-deal-with-erdogans-fascist-governmentJailed Turkish Editor slams EU deal with Erdogan's fascist government], Kareem Shaheen, Guardian, January 19, 2016</ref><ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/theworldpost/wp/2018/06/25/erdogan/ Opinion: Turkey takes a big step toward nationalist fascism] Omer Taspinar, Washington Post, June 25, 2018</ref> For example, he equated [[Zionism]] with [[Fascism]], [[John Kerry]] criticized him for this statement.<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/01/official-kerry-to-rap-turkey-pm-for-remark/</ref> Yet, after Erdogan previously using extreme silly diatribe against Israel, he changed his attitude towards Israel. In Mar 2022,<ref>AFP News Agency@AFP·2h#UPDATE Israel and Turkey proclaimed a new era in relations on Wednesday following more than a decade of diplomatic rupture, as Israeli President Isaac Herzog made a landmark visit to Ankara. ([http://twitter.com/AFP/status/1501659337646911499 Mar 9, 2022]).</ref> [[Israel]] and Turkey proclaimed a new era in relations on Wednesday following more than a decade of diplomatic rupture, as Israeli President Isaac Herzog made a landmark visit to Ankara.

==Economy==
[[Image:Framed medallion Turkey.jpg|300px|thumb|Framed medallion.]]
Turkey is a large, middle-income country with relatively few natural resources. Its economy is currently in transition from a high degree of reliance on agriculture and heavy industrial economy to a more diversified economy with an increasingly large and globalized services sector. Coming out of a tradition of a state-directed economy that was relatively closed to the outside world, Prime Minister and then President Turgut Özal began to open up the economy in the 1980s, leading to the signing of a Customs Union with the European Union in 1995. In the 1990s, Turkey's economy suffered from a series of coalition governments with weak economic policies, leading to high-inflation boom-and-bust cycles that culminated in a severe banking and economic crisis in 2001 and a deep economic downturn (GNP fell 9.5% in 2001) and increase in unemployment.

Turkey's economy has recovered strongly from the 2001 thanks to good monetary and fiscal policies and structural economic reforms made with the support of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The independence of the Central Bank has been firmly established, a floating exchange rate system has been put in place, and the government's overall budget deficit has been substantially reduced. In addition, there have been substantial reforms in the financial, energy, and telecommunications sectors that have included the privatization of several large state-owned institutions.

Turkey's economy grew an average of 7.5% per year from 2002 through 2006—one of the highest sustained rates of growth in the world. It is expected to grow about 6.1% in 2007. Inflation and interest rates have fallen significantly, the currency has stabilized, government debt has declined to more supportable levels, and business and consumer confidence have returned. At the same time, booming economic growth has contributed to a growing current account deficit. Though Turkey's vulnerabilities have been greatly reduced, the economy could still face problems in the event there is a sudden change in investor sentiment that leads to a sharp fall in the exchange rate. Continued implementation of reforms, including tight fiscal policy, is essential to sustain growth and stability.

After years of low levels of foreign direct investment (FDI), in 2006, Turkey succeeded in attracting $18.9 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) and is expected to attract a similar level in 2007. A series of large privatizations, the stability fostered by the start of Turkey's EU accession negotiations, strong and stable growth, and structural changes in the banking, retail, and telecommunications sectors have all contributed to the rise in foreign investment. Turkey has taken steps to improve its investment climate through administrative streamlining, an end to foreign investment screening, and strengthened intellectual property legislation. However, a number of disputes involving foreign investors in Turkey and certain policies, such as high taxation and continuing gaps in the intellectual property regime, inhibit investment. Turkey has a number of bilateral investment and tax treaties, including with the United States, which guarantee free repatriation of capital in convertible currencies and eliminate double taxation.
*GDP: $750 billion (2020)
*GDP per capita: $8,824 (2020)
*Annual real GDP growth rate: (2004) (+) 8.9%; (2005) 7.4%; (2006) 6.0%.
*Annual inflation rate /CPI: (2003) 18.4%; (2004) 9.3%; (2005) 7.7%; (2006) 9.7%.
*Natural resources: Coal, chromium, mercury, copper, boron, oil, gold.
*Agriculture (10.8% of GNP): Major cash crops—cotton, sugar beets, hazelnuts, wheat, barley, and tobacco. Provides 26% of jobs and 4% of exports.
*Industry (25.4% of GNP): Major growth sector, types—automotive, electronics, food processing, textiles, basic metals, chemicals, and petrochemicals. Provides 20% of jobs.
*Trade: Exports (merchandise)--(2005) $73.1 billion; (2006) $83.5 billion: textiles and apparel, industrial machinery, iron and steel, electronics, petroleum products, and motor vehicles. Imports (merchandise)--(2005) $116 billion; (2006) 135.5 billion: petroleum, machinery, motor vehicles, electronics, iron and steel, plastics precious metals. Major partners—Germany, U.S., Italy, France, Russia, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, U.K.

====European Union accession====
Turkey's principal ongoing economic challenge is providing for the needs of a fast-growing, young population. Raising living standards to those prevalent in Europe will require high rates of GDP growth sustained over many years. This will entail continued structural reforms that encourage both domestic and foreign investment. Principal areas for reform identified by international financial intuitions include increasing flexibility in the labor market, making the educational sector more responsive to the needs of the economy and ensuring faster and more predictable operation of the judicial system. As an aspirant to membership in the European Union, Turkey aims to adopt the EU's basic system of national law and regulation (the acquis communautaire) by 2014. While implementing some elements of the acquis will be costly and difficult (for example in the areas of environmental protection and agriculture), its adoption will make a significant contribution to modernizing the economy.

====Energy====
[[File:Electric Energy Grid Turkey.jpg|thumb|360px|Electric Energy Grid.]]
Installed electricity generation capacity in Turkey reached 35,600 megawatts (MW) as of 2004. Fossil fuels account for 71% of the total installed capacity and hydro, geothermal, and wind account for the remaining 28%. The growth in electricity generation has remained below electricity demand until recently, which has made Turkey a net importer of electricity since 1997. The growth of energy demand slowed somewhat as a result of the 2001 economic crisis, but has picked up again. Turkish authorities expect a significant electricity shortfall unless new facilities become operational. The Government of Turkey took some important steps in 2001 to liberalize its energy sector, including passage of the Electricity Market Law and establishment of the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA). However, the government has moved slowly to follow through on plans to liberalize and privatize the electricity and natural gas sectors. In 2004, the High Planning Council approved the Electricity Sector Reform Strategy to renew the reform process.

Oil provides about 43% of Turkey's total energy requirements; around 90% is imported. Domestic production is mostly from small fields in the southeast. New exploration is taking place in the eastern Black Sea. In 2004, the Parliament approved a petroleum market reform bill that liberalized consumer prices and would lead to the privatization of the state refining company TUPRAS. TUPRAS was privatized in 2005, but this has been held up by court cases still in process. Turkey has a refining capacity of 802,275 barrels per day (b/d).

Turkey acts as an important link in the East-West Southern Energy Corridor bringing Caspian, Central Asian, and Middle Eastern energy to Europe and world markets. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which came online in July 2006, delivers 1 million b/d of petroleum, and in 2007, the South Caucasus Pipeline (from Shah Deniz) is expected to bring natural gas from Azerbaijan to Turkey. Turkey is building an interconnector pipeline to Greece, an important step in bringing Caspian natural gas to Europe via Turkey.

====Telecommunications====
[[File:Turk map.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Map of Turkey.]]
Parliament enacted legislation separating telecommunications policy and regulatory functions in January 2000, by establishing an independent regulatory body, the Telecommunication Authority. The Authority is responsible for issuing licenses, supervising operators, and taking necessary technical measures against violations of the rules. Most regulatory functions of the Transport Ministry were transferred to the Authority, and the regulator is slowly gaining competence and independence. The long-expected privatization of the state-owned telecommunications company was accomplished by the sale of 55% of Turk Telekom to the Saudi-owned Oger Group in November 2005. With liberalization and growth in the economy, there is growing competition for Internet provision, but Turk Telekom remains the sole provider of ADSL wide band Internet.

====Environment====
[[File:TurkishForest.jpg|thumb|left|280px|Turkish forest.]]
With the establishment of the Environment Ministry in 1991, Turkey began to make significant progress addressing its most pressing environmental problems. The most dramatic improvements were significant reductions of air pollution in Istanbul and Ankara. However, progress has been slow on the remaining—and serious—environmental challenges facing Turkey.

In 2003, the Ministry of Environment was merged with the Forestry Ministry. With its goal to join the EU, Turkey has made commendable progress in updating and modernizing its environmental legislation. However, environmental concerns are not fully integrated into public decision-making and enforcement can be weak. Turkey faces a backlog of environmental problems, requiring enormous outlays for infrastructure. The most pressing needs are for water treatment plants, wastewater treatment facilities, solid waste management, and conservation of biodiversity. The discovery of a number of chemical waste sites in 2006 has highlighted weakness in environmental law and oversight.
{{Clear}}

====Transportation====
The Turkish Government gives a special priority to major infrastructure projects, especially in the transport sector. The government is in the process of building new airports and highways, thanks to an increased public investment budget. The government will realize many of these projects by utilizing the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.

== See also ==
[[File:Blue mosque Istanbul Turkey.jpg|thumb|The Blue Mosque, Istanbul.]]
*[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]]
*[[Battle of Adrianople]]
*[[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]]
*[[Oriental art]]
*[[Göbekli Tepe]]
*[[Catal Huyuk|Çatalhöyük]]
{{Clear}}

== External links ==
*[http://bertschlossberg.blogspot.com/ A Turkish Delight: they think so in Israel also!]

==References==
{{reflist}}

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{{Asian Countries}}

[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:NATO Members]]
[[Category:Turkey]]
[[Category:Muslim-Majority Countries]]

Turkiye

2022-04-29T16:38:59Z

Andrewlee: /* Disputed territories */

For the animal with the same name see [[Turkey (bird)]]

{{Country
|name =''Türkiye Cumhuriyeti''
|map =Turkey rel 2006.jpg
|flag =Flag of Turkey.png
|arms =Emblem of Turkey.svg.png
|capital =Ankara
|capital-raw =
|government =Republic
|government-raw =
|language =Turkish
|king =
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =
|pm-raw =
|area =302,535 sq mi
|pop =85,000,000 (2020)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =$794,000,000,000 (2021)
|gdp-year =
|gdp-pc =$9,327 (2021)
|currency =Turkish lira
|idd =
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}}
The '''Republic of Turkey''' ('''Republic of Turkiye''') is a transcontinental country occupying the Anatolian Peninsula of [[Western Asia]], as well as a small section of Southeastern [[Europe]] at the Bosporus Strait.

Turkey has a lot of cultural heritage places. It is the land of the Seven Churches of [[Book of Revelation|Revelation]]. 89.5% of its people are [[Muslim]]s<ref>[https://t24.com.tr/haber/optimar-dan-din-inanc-anketi-yuzde-89-allah-in-varligina-ve-birligine-inaniyor,821459 Optimar'dan din-inanç anketi: Yüzde 89 Allah'ın varlığına ve birliğine inanıyor]</ref> and religion doesn't play a pivotal role in their lives. Most of the Turks are said to be cultural or nominal Muslims and continue to practice [[Shamanism|shamanistic]] traditions from pre-Islamic heritage. Although, [[atheism]] and [[deism]] are increasing in Turkey, there is a growing amount of [[Islamism]], largely due to [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan|Erdoğan]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2018/04/turkey-why-so-many-turks-are-losing-faith-in-islam.html|title=Why so many Turks are losing faith in Islam|last=Akyol|first=Mustafa|date=2018-04-16|work=Al-Monitor|access-date=2018-04-21|language=en-us}}</ref><ref>[https://www.dw.com/en/atheism-grows-in-turkey-as-recep-tayyip-erdogan-urges-islam/a-47018029 Atheism grows in Turkey as Recep Tayyip Erdogan urges Islam]</ref><ref>[http://asianews.it/news-en/The-number-of-atheists-increasing-in-Turkey-45956.html The number of atheists increasing in Turkey]</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43981745 The young Turks rejecting Islam]</ref><ref>https://www.thecairoreview.com/essays/turkeys-pan-islamist-foreign-policy/</ref>

Turkey continued the [[Western world|West]]-oriented [[modernization]] initiated by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] dynasty and statesmen. Many things in Turkey contain a mixture of the West and the East, the old and the new, the traditional and the modern. When you visit even the smallest city in Turkey no matter how little its population is, you will find that different cultural elements, traditions, beliefs, languages or dialects live.<ref>[https://www.studyinturkey.gov.tr/StudyinTurkey/ShowDetail?rID=ctfC0sgwTeQ=&&cId=PE4Nr0mMoY4= Culture - Study in Turkey]</ref> Even those who have not done anything related to [[Islam]] in their lives see being Muslim as a part of their identity. Therefore, they may have a negative attitude towards [[Christianity]] or other religions. Because of historical hostilities and bigotry, Turkey is virulently [[Anti-Christian sentiment|anti-Christian]].<ref>https://www.jihadwatch.org/2020/03/turkey-muslims-screaming-allahu-akbar-disrupt-christian-funeral-desecrate-christian-graves</ref> Despite being a [[secular]] and [[Westernization|Westernized]] country, it incites against Christians and the other non-[[Sunni]] religious minorities due to radical nature of Islamic cultural background. It is sometimes debated whether Turkey is a [[secular state]] due to state support for Sunnism. (Sunni clergy are civil servants. Mosques are under state control.) The governing [[Justice and Development Party|AKP]] in Turkey depicts Christians as a "threat to the stability of the nation". Turkish Christian citizens have often been stereotyped as not "real Turks" but as "Western collaborators" by this bigoted and prejudiced point of view.<ref>[https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/israel-zionism/2020/12/how-yasir-arafat-drove-christians-from-bethlehem/ How Yasir Arafat Drove Christians from Bethlehem] D. Weinberg, Mosaic Mag., Dec. 28, 2020.</ref>

==History==
[[Image:St. Sophie Turkey.jpg|right|280px|thumb|Hagia Sophia, Istanbul.]]
[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Mustafa Kemal Pasha]], celebrated by the Turkish State as a Turkish [[World War I]] hero and later known as Atatürk ("Father-Turk"), led the founding of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 after the collapse of the 600-year-old [[Ottoman Empire]] and a three-year war of independence. The empire, which at its peak controlled vast stretches of Northern Africa, Southeastern Europe, and Western Asia, had failed to keep pace with European social and technological developments. The rise of national consciousness impelled several national groups within the Empire to seek independence as nation-states, leading to the empire's fragmentation. This process culminated in the disastrous Ottoman participation in World War I as a German ally. Defeated, shorn of much of its former territory, and partly occupied by forces of the victorious European states, the Ottoman structure was repudiated by Turkish nationalists brought together under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal. The nationalists expelled invading Greek, Armenian, French, British, and Italian forces from Anatolia and Turkish Thrace in a bitter war—and with a diplomatic struggle. After the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey the temporal and religious ruling institutions of the old empire (the sultanate and caliphate) were abolished.

The leaders of the new republic concentrated on consolidating their power and modernizing and Westernizing what had been the empire's core—Asian Anatolia and a part of European Thrace. Social, political, linguistic, and economic reforms and attitudes decreed by Atatürk from 1924-1934 continue to be referred to as the ideological base of modern Turkey. In the post-Atatürk era, and especially after the military coup of 1960, this ideology came to be known as "Kemalism" and his reforms began to be referred to as "revolutions." Kemalism comprises a Turkish form of secularism, strong nationalism, statism, and to a degree a western orientation. The continued validity and applicability of Kemalism are the subject of lively debate in Turkey's political life. The current ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) comes from a tradition that challenges many of the Kemalist precepts and is driven in its reform efforts by a desire to achieve EU accession.

Turkey entered [[World War II]] on the Allied side until shortly before the war ended, becoming a charter member of the [[United Nations]]. Difficulties faced by [[Greece]] after World War II in quelling a communist rebellion and demands by the [[Soviet Union]] for military bases in the Turkish Straits prompted the United States to declare the [[Truman Doctrine]] in 1947. The doctrine enunciated American intentions to guarantee the security of Turkey and Greece and resulted in large scale U.S. military and economic aid under the [[Marshall Plan]]. After participating with United Nations forces in the [[Korean War|Korean conflict]], Turkey in 1952 joined the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] (NATO). Turkey is currently a [[European Union]] candidate, although this has been clouded by their refusal to acknowledge the [[Armenian genocide]].

==Disputed territories==
===Kurdistan===
:{{Main article|Kurdistan}}

===Liwa Iskanderoun (Hatay)===
In 1939, Turkey annexed Hatay State, present-day Hatay Province. Formerly it was ''Liwa Iskanderoun'' of the Mandate for Syria and Lebanon from 1921 to 1938. However, Syrian maps continue to include Hatay as part of Syrian territory.<ref>https://carnegie-mec.org/diwan/54340?lang=en</ref>

==People==
[[File:Istiklal Caddesi 06 24 09 0068.jpg|thumb|right|A busy day on İstiklal Avenue, Istanbul.]]
Modern Turkey encompasses bustling [[cosmopolitan]] centers, pastoral farming villages, barren wastelands, peaceful Aegean coastlines, and steep mountain regions. More than half of Turkey's population lives in urban areas that juxtapose Western lifestyles with more traditional ways of life.

Turkey is officially a [[secular state|secular]] country with no official religion since the constitutional amendment in 1928 and later strengthened by Atatürk's Reforms and the appliance of laicism by the country's founder and first president [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]] on February 5, 1937. Due to oppression of [[Christianity]], Turkey's population is nearly entirely (at least cultural) [[Muslim]]. Most Turkish Muslims follow the [[Sunni]] traditions of Islam, although a significant number follow Alevi and [[Shiite]] traditions. Questions regarding role of religion in society and government, the role of linguistic and ethnic identity, and the public's expectation to live in security dominate public discourse. Turkish citizens who assert a [[Kurds|Kurdish]] identity constitute an ethnic and linguistic group that is estimated at up to 12 million in number.
[[File:Iskenderun church.jpg|thumb|right|St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in İskenderun, Hatay.]]
*Population (2018): 82 million.
*Annual population growth rate (2017 est.): 1.24%.
*Ethnic groups: Turkish, Kurdish, other.
*Religions: Muslim (majority), Christian, [[Baha'i Faith|Baha'i]], and Jewish.
*Languages: Turkish (official and majority), Kurdish, Zaza, Arabic, Armenian, Greek.
*Education: Years compulsory—8. Attendance—97.6%. Literacy—86.5%. ''(it's not current data)''
*Health: Infant mortality rate—39.4/1,000. Life expectancy—68.5 yrs. ''(it's not current data)''
*Work force (23 million): Agriculture—35.6%; industry—17.5%; services—47.2%. ''(it's not current data)''

==Government and political conditions==
The 1982 Constitution, drafted by the military in the wake of a 1980 military coup, proclaims Turkey's system of government as [[democracy|democratic]], [[secular state|secular]], and [[Parliamentary Republic|parliamentary]]. A [[Presidential Government|presidential system]] was adopted with a referendum in 2017; the new system came into effect with the presidential election in 2018 and gives the President complete control of the executive, including the power to issue decrees, appoint his own cabinet, draw up the budget, dissolve parliament by calling early elections, and pack the bureaucracy and the courts with political appointees. The office of Prime Minister has been abolished and its powers (together with those of the Cabinet) have been transferred to the President, who is the head of state and is elected for a five-year term by direct elections. [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] is the first president elected by direct voting. Turkey's constitution governs the legal framework of the country. It sets out the main principles of government and establishes Turkey as a unitary centralized state.

Executive power is exercized by the President, while the legislative power is vested in the unicameral parliament, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The judiciary is nominally independent from the executive and the legislature, but the constitutional changes that came into effect with the referendums in 2007, 2010 and 2017 gave larger powers to the President and the ruling party for appointing or dismissing judges and prosecutors. The Constitutional Court is charged with ruling on the conformity of laws and decrees with the constitution. The Council of State is the tribunal of last resort for administrative cases, and the High Court of Appeals for all others.
[[File:Turkish Parliament in Ankara.jpg|thumb|300px|The Parliament in Ankara.]]

Universal suffrage for both sexes has been applied throughout Turkey since 1933 and before most countries, and every Turkish citizen who has turned 18 years of age has the right to vote. There are 600 members of parliament who are elected for a five-year term by a party-list proportional representation system from 85 electoral districts. The Constitutional Court can strip the public financing of political parties that it deems anti-secular or separatist, or ban their existence altogether. The electoral threshold is 10 percent of the votes.

Supporters of [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Atatürk]]'s reforms are called Kemalists, as distinguished from [[Islamism|Islamists]], representing the two diverging views regarding the role of religion in legislation, education and public life. The Kemalist view supports a form of democracy with a laicist [[constitution]] and Westernized secular lifestyle, while maintaining the necessity of state intervention in the economy, education and other public services. Since its foundation as a republic in 1923, Turkey has developed a strong tradition of secularism. However, since the 1980s, issues such as income inequality and class distinction have given rise to Islamic [[populism]], a movement that supports a larger role for religion in government policies, and in theory supports obligation to authority, communal solidarity and social justice; though what that entails in practice is often contested. Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the [[Justice and Development Party]] has been described as becoming increasingly authoritarian. Prior to the constitutional referendum in 2017 the Council of Europe saw Turkey drifting towards an autocracy, warning of a "dramatic regression of its democratic order". Many elements in the constitutional reform package that was approved with the referendum in 2017 have increased concerns in the European Union regarding democracy and the separation of powers in Turkey.

As of 2017 the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index rates Turkey at 4.88 (on a 0–10 scale), classifying Turkey as a Hybrid Regime. In 2018, Freedom House rated Turkey at 32 (on a 0–100 scale) as Not Free.

Human-right abuses, especially against [[Christians]] remains a problem<ref>http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78844.htm</ref> and the frequency of violent attacks on Christian ministers and priests is still high.<ref>http://washingtontimes.com/upi/20070418-030533-9552</ref><ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5139408.stm</ref>

The [[Kurdish Worker Party]] (PKK), an [[far-left|extreme]] [[leftist]] ethnic nationalist and [[separatism|separatist]] –originally [[Marxism-Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]]– [[terrorism|terrorist]] organization, founded in 1978, seeks the foundation of an independent [[socialism|socialist]] [[Kurds|Kurdish]] state.<ref name="Jongerden">{{Cite journal|last=Jongerden|first=Joost|date=2017-10-01|title=Gender equality and radical democracy: Contractions and conflicts in relation to the "new paradigm" within the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)|url=https://journals.openedition.org/anatoli/618|journal=Anatoli. De l'Adriatique à la Caspienne. Territoires, Politique, Sociétés|language=en|issue=8|pages=233–256|doi=10.4000/anatoli.618|issn=2111-4064}}</ref> It is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey,<ref name="RadioFrance">{{cite news|url=http://www.english.rfi.fr/asia-pacific/20140116-turkey-spy-agency-denies-role-paris-kurds-murder-launches-probe|title=Turkey spy agency denies role in Paris Kurds murder, launches probe|date=16 January 2014|publisher=Radio France Internationale|access-date=5 February 2014}}</ref> the [[United States]],<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|title=Foreign Terrorist Organizations|url=https://www.state.gov/foreign-terrorist-organizations/|access-date=2021-03-10|website=United States Department of State|language=en-US}}</ref> the [[European Union]],<ref name=":10">{{Cite web|title=Turkey 2019 Report|url=https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/sites/near/files/20190529-turkey-report.pdf|access-date=16 December 2019|website=ec.europa.eu|page=5}}</ref> and some other countries.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web|last=department|first=Attorney-General's|title=Listed terrorist organisations|url=https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205054738/http://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx|archive-date=5 February 2016|access-date=18 December 2019|website=www.nationalsecurity.gov.au|language=en-au}}</ref><ref name="Japan_ban">{{cite web|title=MOFA: Implementation of the Measures including the Freezing of Assets against Terrorists and the Like|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406134416/http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html|archive-date=6 April 2013|access-date=21 November 2013}}</ref> The PKK was formed as part of the Kurdish nationalist schism within the Turkish [[communism|communist]] movement<ref name="Jongerden"/> and the growing discontent over the suppression of Turkey's Kurds, in an effort to establish linguistic, cultural, and political rights for the Kurdish minority.<ref name="Palgrave Macmillan">{{cite book|last1=Joseph|first1=J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G06BDAAAQBAJ|title=Turkey and the European Union internal dynamics and external challenges|date=2006|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|isbn=0230598587|location=Basingstoke [England]|page=100}}</ref> Following the military coup of 1980, the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in public and private life to prevent separatism.<ref name="NYTK">Toumani, Meline. [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/magazine/17turkey-t.html?ex=1361854800&en=df64cf85326e2103&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink Minority Rules], ''[[New York Times]]'', 17 February 2008</ref> Many who spoke, published, or sang in Kurdish were arrested and imprisoned.<ref name="Cambridge University Press">{{cite book|last1=Aslan|first1=Senem|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wTAWBQAAQBAJ|title=Nation Building in Turkey and Morocco|date=2014|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1107054608|page=134}}</ref> The PKK's response to these policies has been the bombing of downtowns, the massacre of civilians, and the destruction of schools and hospitals in the Kurdish-majority cities of Turkey.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10576100701558620|doi = 10.1080/10576100701558620|title = The Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) as Criminal Syndicate: Funding Terrorism through Organized Crime, A Case Study|year = 2007|last1 = Roth|first1 = Mitchel P.|last2 = Sever|first2 = Murat|journal = Studies in Conflict & Terrorism|volume = 30|issue = 10|pages = 901–920|s2cid = 110700560}}</ref><ref name="amnestysecurity"/><ref name="childsoldiers"/> It has faced condemnation by some countries and human rights organizations for the killing of teachers and civil servants,<ref name="amnestysecurity">{{Cite web | url = https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a9ea0.html | title = No Security Without Human Rights | publisher = [[Amnesty International]] | access-date = 1 February 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Öğretmen Necmettin Yılmaz'ın Öldürülmesini Kınıyoruz!|url=https://www.ihd.org.tr/ogretmen-necmettin-yilmazin-oldurulmesini-kiniyoruz/|access-date=2021-03-12|website=[[İnsan Hakları Derneği]]|language=tr}}</ref> using [[Suicide attack|suicide bombers]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Foreign diplomats, countries condemn Cizre attack - World News|url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/foreign-diplomats-countries-condemn-cizre-attack-103271|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Hürriyet Daily News|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=PKK claims deadly suicide bombing at Turkish police station|url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-claims-responsibility-suicide-bombing-left-11-dead-turkey-1381604350|access-date=27 December 2018|website=Middle East Eye|archive-date=14 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214114351/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-claims-responsibility-suicide-bombing-left-11-dead-turkey-1381604350|url-status=dead}}</ref> and recruiting child soldiers.<ref name="childsoldiers">{{Cite web | url = https://www.refworld.org/docid/498805c428.html | title = Child Soldiers Global Report 2001 - Turkey | publisher = [[Child Soldiers International]] | access-date = 1 February 2021 }}</ref><ref name="HRWCS">{{Cite web|date=2016-12-22|title=Iraq: Armed Groups Using Child Soldiers|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/12/22/iraq-armed-groups-using-child-soldiers-0|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Human Rights Watch|language=en}}</ref> It was armed by the [[Obama administration]].<ref>https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/antifa-ypg-pkk-ties-threaten-national-peace-in-west/1899520</ref> The PKK trained [[Antifa]] fighters in Northern [[Syria]].<ref>https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/war-on-terror/ypgpkk-recruited-foreign-fighters-from-antifa-groups-in-western-countries-report-says</ref>

[[File:Ankara panorama Turkey.jpg|thumb|center|700px|The capital Ankara.]]

{{Clear}}
===Principal government officials===
*President of the Republic — Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
*Vice President of the Republic — Fuat Oktay

===Foreign relations===
[[File:Turkish girls laughing in calimanesti.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Turkish dancers in a festival in [[Romania]].]]
Turkey's primary political, economic, and security ties are with the West, although some voices call for a more "Eurasian" orientation.

Turkey entered NATO in 1952 and serves as the organization's vital eastern anchor, controlling the straits leading from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and sharing a border with Syria, Iraq, and Iran. A NATO headquarters is located in Izmir. Besides its relationships with NATO and the EU, Turkey is a member of the OECD, the Council of Europe, and OSCE. Turkey also is a member of the UN and the Islamic Conference Organization (OIC). In December 1999, Turkey became a candidate for EU membership. On December 17, 2004, the EU decided to begin formal accession negotiations with Turkey in October 2005.

Turkey and the EU formed a customs union beginning January 1, 1996. The agreement covers industrial and processed agricultural goods. Turkey is harmonizing its laws and regulations with EU standards. Turkey adopted the EU's Common External Tariff regime, effectively lowering Turkey's tariffs for third countries, including the United States.

On October 3, 2005, Turkey and the EU reached agreement for Turkey to begin negotiations on accession to the European Union. Turkey and EU officials have begun the process of screening Turkey's laws and policies in order to begin negotiating the individual chapters required for ultimate EU accession. However, this admission request has not been without criticism,<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2420697.stm</ref> including:
*Serious human rights violations<ref>http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20070419-0809-italy-turkey-eu.html</ref>
*Refusal to admit genocide of [[Armenia]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6043730.stm</ref>
*Refusal to recognize [[Cyprus]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6153186.stm</ref>
*Only 3% of Turkey is in [[Europe]]
*Threat of increasing [[Islamic]] fundamentalism<ref>http://www.freemuslims.org/news/article.php?article=1761</ref>

Turkey opened and provisionally closed in 2006 one EU negotiating chapter on science and technology. Another chapter on statistics was opened in February 2007, and two more are expected to be opened by July 1, 2007. Eight chapters, mostly related to trade, were suspended by the European Council in December 2006 after Turkey declined to open its ports and airports to Cypriot vessels—a commitment Turkey made as part of the Ankara Protocol and its EU Customs Union membership.

Turkey is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It has signed free trade agreements with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Israel, and many other countries. In 1992 Turkey and 10 other regional nations formed the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Council to expand regional trade and economic cooperation. Turkey chaired BSEC in 2007 and hosted in Istanbul the 15th BSEC Summit in June 2007.

====Relations with the United States====
U.S.-Turkish friendship dates to the late 18th century and was officially sealed by a treaty in 1830. The present close relationship began with the agreement of July 12, 1947, which implemented the Truman Doctrine. As part of the cooperative effort to further Turkish economic and military self-reliance, the United States has loaned and granted Turkey more than $12.5 billion in economic aid and more than $14 billion in military assistance.

U.S.-Turkish relations focus on areas such as strategic energy cooperation, trade and investment, security ties, regional stability, the global war on terrorism, and human rights progress. Relations were strained when Turkey refused in March 2003 to allow U.S. troops to deploy through its territory to Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom, but regained momentum steadily thereafter and mutual interests remain strong across a wide spectrum of issues. On July 5, 2006, Secretary Rice and then-Foreign Minister Gül signed a Shared Vision Statement to highlight the common values and goals between our two countries and to lay out a framework for increased strategic dialogue.

The U.S. and Turkey have had a Joint Economic Commission and a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, which last met in Washington in April 2007, for several years. In 2002, the two countries indicated their joint intent to upgrade bilateral economic relations by launching an Economic Partnership Commission, which last convened in Ankara in February 2007. In 2006, Turkish exports to the U.S. totaled about $5.4 billion, and U.S. exports to Turkey totaled $5.7 billion.

[[Condoleezza Rice]] ones described Turkey as “a vital and strategic partner of the United States”. But since the tenure of [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] these times are over.<ref>https://www.nationalreview.com/article/348422/erdo%C4%9Fan%E2%80%99s-agenda</ref> Erdoğan - a dictator<ref>[https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/11/turkey-erdogan-coup-hdp-pkk-syria-gulen-ypg Turkey's Fascist Slide] Güney Işıkara, Alp Kayserilioğlu, Max Zirngast, Jacobin, Nov 10, 2016.
Turkish president Erdoğan is wielding the state to attack anyone who won't capitulate to his authoritarian rule.</ref><ref>[https://m.imdb.com/title/tt7054718/ Erdogan: The Dictator's Republic], Imbd,
2017</ref><ref>[https://stockholmcf.org/turkish-journalist-goes-on-trial-for-insulting-erdogan-in-fascist-dictatorship-column/ Turkish journalist goes on trial for insulting Erdoğan in ‘fascist dictatorship’ column] SCF, June 28, 2018</ref><ref>[https://euobserver.com/political/147624 What does Erdoğan want?] Robert Debeuf, EU Observer, Mar 4, 2020.

"Shameful...unacceptable....blackmail...dictator." European leaders didn't spare their words to condemn Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan after his decision on Friday (28 February) to open its border with Greece and let refugees enter into Europe.

On Monday, Erdoğan stepped up his game warning that "millions" of refugees would come to Europe.

He also said he refused €1m in extra cash, saying "we don't want this money".

Despite this statement, former Nato secretary-general Willy Claes said on Belgian television that Erdogan is "a dictator" and that "all he wants is money".</ref><ref>[https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/11/16/biden-action-against-erdogan/amp/ Will Biden Turn His Words Against Dictator Erdoğan Into Action?]Adulrahman Taleb, Greek City Times, Nov 16, 2020.
Furthermore, Biden openly attacked dictator Erdoğan and called him an “autocrat” and promised that he will work with the opposition parties.</ref><ref>[https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/12/31/what-the-biden-presidency-means-for-turkey-and-erdogan-post-trump.html Erdogan should be very, very worried': What the Biden presidency means for Turkey] Natasha Turak, CNBC, Dec 31, 2020.
In an interview last January, Biden called Erdogan an “autocrat,” criticized his actions toward the Kurds..</ref><ref>[https://amp.france24.com/en/20190313-netanyahu-hits-back-turkeys-dictator-erdogan Netanyahu hits back at 'Turkey's dictator Erdogan'], ''France 24'', Mar 13, 2019.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday slammed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a "dictator" and "a joke"...</ref> ethnic-cleanser, oppressor, Islamist<ref>[https://www.theglobalist.com/turkey-recep-tayyip-erdogan-eu-nato-kurds-islamism/ J’Accuse Erdogan] Alon Ben-Meir, Globalist, July 9, 2020.

The weaker Recep Tayyip Erdogan is at home politically, the longer the list of the Turkish President’s transgressions gets.
<blockquote>
A preliminary list of Erdogan’s transgressions

For evidence, it is useful to assemble the list of transgressions that seem to be the only category Erdogan still seems to “excel” in.
Most fundamentally, Erdogan is violating every article of human rights in his own country, while being keen on destabilizing other countries by exploiting their weaknesses and resources in order to promote his nationalist agenda.

I count altogether 13 specific major transgressions:

1.Erdogan continues to commit gross human rights violations in Turkey by using the failed 2016 military coup as an excuse to silence the media.
Based on a judiciary that, for the most part, barely deserves that name, Erdogan has jailed over 150 journalists, incarcerated around 80,000 suspected of affiliation with the Gülen movement and purged 150,000 military officers and civil servants.

2.Erdogan engages in a systematic operation of ethnic cleansing against minorities in Turkey and northern Syria.

He invaded Syria to both prevent the Syrian Kurdish community from establishing autonomous rule, and to entrench for Turkey a permanent foothold in the country, which is bound to only prolong the conflict and further destabilize the region.

3.Erdogan systematically persecutes his own Kurdish community and continues a 50-year-old war against the PKK, which he views as a terrorist organization.

He also steadfastly refuses to resume negotiations with the Kurds — which account for as much as 20% of Turkey’s population — and end the carnage that has taken the lives of approximately 40,000 on both sides.

4.Erdogan purchased Russia’s S-400 air defense system which, once operational, NATO fears would seriously compromise the alliance’s intelligence sharing and technology — apart from being fully incompatible with NATO systems.

5.Erdogan invested heavily in promoting his Islamic agenda by supporting anti-Western Islamist extremist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and even ISIS.

6.Erdogan uses Islam as a political tool by building mosques and other Islamic theological institutions. He also sends his imams to teach and preach his brand of religious nationalism in many countries in the Middle East and the Balkans.

7.Erdogan violated U.S. sanctions against Iran by laundering up to $20 billion in an oil-for-gold scheme from 2012-2018, and he continues to cooperate and trade with Tehran in defiance of Western interests.

8.Erdogan made a deal with Putin in late 2019 to patrol northern Syria while working closely with Moscow and Tehran to delineate their spheres of influence in the country. He is thus leaving Syria de facto a divided state under their control, while significantly diminishing what’s left of Western influence.

9.Erdogan sent troops to support Libya’s Government of National Accord in an effort to establish a strong foothold in the country, exploiting its oil and gas and threatening the free flow of energy from the Eastern Mediterranean.

10.Erdogan violated a UN arms embargo while resisting NATO’s peace plans in Libya, including exercising extreme aggression against NATO ally France’s warship enforcing the embargo.

11.Erdogan blocked a NATO defense plan for the Baltics and Poland and regularly intimidates Greece, a NATO member state, violating the country’s airspace with Turkish military jets.

12.Erdogan is adamant about drilling for gas in the territorial waters of Cyprus and has begun plans to expand drilling off the coast of the Greek island of Crete.

In that pursuit, he remains at odds with Greece, Cyprus, Egypt and Israel over ownership of natural resources, threatening to use force to secure “his share” which could burgeon into a violent conflict.

13.Last but not least, Erdogan perpetuated the heated conflict with Cyprus over his demand that his puppet — the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus — enjoy equal political power to the Republic of Cyprus, which is four times larger in population and territory and is an EU member state.</blockquote></ref><ref>[https://www.politico.eu/article/mario-draghi-dictator-recep-tayyip-erdogan-sofagate/ Italy’s Draghi slams Erdoğan as a ‘dictator’ after Sofagate] Giorgio Leali, Politico, April 8, 2021.

Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi slammed Turkish Presiden Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.</ref> fascist.<ref>[https://turkeypurge.com/exiled-novelist-asli-erdogan-turkey-has-a-fascist-regime-it-is-not-yet-1940s-germany-but-1930s Exiled novelist Aslı Erdoğan: Turkey has a fascist regime. It is not yet 1940s Germany, but 1930s] TurkeyPurge, Aug 6, 2018</ref><ref>[https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article/turkey-turning-into-fascist-dictatorship-meps-told Turkey turning into "fascist dictatorship", MEPs told] Martin Banks, The Parliament Magazine,, Nov 8, 2016

A leading Turkish opposition parliamentarian says that Turkey has been turned into a "fascist dictatorship" under its President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.</ref><ref>[https://amp2.handelsblatt.com/recep-tayyip-erdogan-birth-of-a-dictator/23540062.html Recep Tayyip Erdogan: Birth of a Dictator] von John Blau, Handelsblatt, Dec 8, 2016.</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/19/jailed-turkish-editor-can-dundar-slams-eu-deal-with-erdogans-fascist-governmentJailed Turkish Editor slams EU deal with Erdogan's fascist government], Kareem Shaheen, Guardian, January 19, 2016</ref><ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/theworldpost/wp/2018/06/25/erdogan/ Opinion: Turkey takes a big step toward nationalist fascism] Omer Taspinar, Washington Post, June 25, 2018</ref> For example, he equated [[Zionism]] with [[Fascism]], [[John Kerry]] criticized him for this statement.<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/01/official-kerry-to-rap-turkey-pm-for-remark/</ref> Yet, after Erdogan previously using extreme silly diatribe against Israel, he changed his attitude towards Israel. In Mar 2022,<ref>AFP News Agency@AFP·2h#UPDATE Israel and Turkey proclaimed a new era in relations on Wednesday following more than a decade of diplomatic rupture, as Israeli President Isaac Herzog made a landmark visit to Ankara. ([http://twitter.com/AFP/status/1501659337646911499 Mar 9, 2022]).</ref> [[Israel]] and Turkey proclaimed a new era in relations on Wednesday following more than a decade of diplomatic rupture, as Israeli President Isaac Herzog made a landmark visit to Ankara.

====Support for Nazism====
Turkey has been supplying large numbers of attack drones to [[Ukrainian]] [[neo-Nazi]]s. <ref>https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/04/27/drones-russia-ukraine-war-donbas/</ref>

==Economy==
[[Image:Framed medallion Turkey.jpg|300px|thumb|Framed medallion.]]
Turkey is a large, middle-income country with relatively few natural resources. Its economy is currently in transition from a high degree of reliance on agriculture and heavy industrial economy to a more diversified economy with an increasingly large and globalized services sector. Coming out of a tradition of a state-directed economy that was relatively closed to the outside world, Prime Minister and then President Turgut Özal began to open up the economy in the 1980s, leading to the signing of a Customs Union with the European Union in 1995. In the 1990s, Turkey's economy suffered from a series of coalition governments with weak economic policies, leading to high-inflation boom-and-bust cycles that culminated in a severe banking and economic crisis in 2001 and a deep economic downturn (GNP fell 9.5% in 2001) and increase in unemployment.

Turkey's economy has recovered strongly from the 2001 thanks to good monetary and fiscal policies and structural economic reforms made with the support of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The independence of the Central Bank has been firmly established, a floating exchange rate system has been put in place, and the government's overall budget deficit has been substantially reduced. In addition, there have been substantial reforms in the financial, energy, and telecommunications sectors that have included the privatization of several large state-owned institutions.

Turkey's economy grew an average of 7.5% per year from 2002 through 2006—one of the highest sustained rates of growth in the world. It is expected to grow about 6.1% in 2007. Inflation and interest rates have fallen significantly, the currency has stabilized, government debt has declined to more supportable levels, and business and consumer confidence have returned. At the same time, booming economic growth has contributed to a growing current account deficit. Though Turkey's vulnerabilities have been greatly reduced, the economy could still face problems in the event there is a sudden change in investor sentiment that leads to a sharp fall in the exchange rate. Continued implementation of reforms, including tight fiscal policy, is essential to sustain growth and stability.

After years of low levels of foreign direct investment (FDI), in 2006, Turkey succeeded in attracting $18.9 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) and is expected to attract a similar level in 2007. A series of large privatizations, the stability fostered by the start of Turkey's EU accession negotiations, strong and stable growth, and structural changes in the banking, retail, and telecommunications sectors have all contributed to the rise in foreign investment. Turkey has taken steps to improve its investment climate through administrative streamlining, an end to foreign investment screening, and strengthened intellectual property legislation. However, a number of disputes involving foreign investors in Turkey and certain policies, such as high taxation and continuing gaps in the intellectual property regime, inhibit investment. Turkey has a number of bilateral investment and tax treaties, including with the United States, which guarantee free repatriation of capital in convertible currencies and eliminate double taxation.
*GDP: $750 billion (2020)
*GDP per capita: $8,824 (2020)
*Annual real GDP growth rate: (2004) (+) 8.9%; (2005) 7.4%; (2006) 6.0%.
*Annual inflation rate /CPI: (2003) 18.4%; (2004) 9.3%; (2005) 7.7%; (2006) 9.7%.
*Natural resources: Coal, chromium, mercury, copper, boron, oil, gold.
*Agriculture (10.8% of GNP): Major cash crops—cotton, sugar beets, hazelnuts, wheat, barley, and tobacco. Provides 26% of jobs and 4% of exports.
*Industry (25.4% of GNP): Major growth sector, types—automotive, electronics, food processing, textiles, basic metals, chemicals, and petrochemicals. Provides 20% of jobs.
*Trade: Exports (merchandise)--(2005) $73.1 billion; (2006) $83.5 billion: textiles and apparel, industrial machinery, iron and steel, electronics, petroleum products, and motor vehicles. Imports (merchandise)--(2005) $116 billion; (2006) 135.5 billion: petroleum, machinery, motor vehicles, electronics, iron and steel, plastics precious metals. Major partners—Germany, U.S., Italy, France, Russia, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, U.K.

====European Union accession====
Turkey's principal ongoing economic challenge is providing for the needs of a fast-growing, young population. Raising living standards to those prevalent in Europe will require high rates of GDP growth sustained over many years. This will entail continued structural reforms that encourage both domestic and foreign investment. Principal areas for reform identified by international financial intuitions include increasing flexibility in the labor market, making the educational sector more responsive to the needs of the economy and ensuring faster and more predictable operation of the judicial system. As an aspirant to membership in the European Union, Turkey aims to adopt the EU's basic system of national law and regulation (the acquis communautaire) by 2014. While implementing some elements of the acquis will be costly and difficult (for example in the areas of environmental protection and agriculture), its adoption will make a significant contribution to modernizing the economy.

====Energy====
[[File:Electric Energy Grid Turkey.jpg|thumb|360px|Electric Energy Grid.]]
Installed electricity generation capacity in Turkey reached 35,600 megawatts (MW) as of 2004. Fossil fuels account for 71% of the total installed capacity and hydro, geothermal, and wind account for the remaining 28%. The growth in electricity generation has remained below electricity demand until recently, which has made Turkey a net importer of electricity since 1997. The growth of energy demand slowed somewhat as a result of the 2001 economic crisis, but has picked up again. Turkish authorities expect a significant electricity shortfall unless new facilities become operational. The Government of Turkey took some important steps in 2001 to liberalize its energy sector, including passage of the Electricity Market Law and establishment of the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA). However, the government has moved slowly to follow through on plans to liberalize and privatize the electricity and natural gas sectors. In 2004, the High Planning Council approved the Electricity Sector Reform Strategy to renew the reform process.

Oil provides about 43% of Turkey's total energy requirements; around 90% is imported. Domestic production is mostly from small fields in the southeast. New exploration is taking place in the eastern Black Sea. In 2004, the Parliament approved a petroleum market reform bill that liberalized consumer prices and would lead to the privatization of the state refining company TUPRAS. TUPRAS was privatized in 2005, but this has been held up by court cases still in process. Turkey has a refining capacity of 802,275 barrels per day (b/d).

Turkey acts as an important link in the East-West Southern Energy Corridor bringing Caspian, Central Asian, and Middle Eastern energy to Europe and world markets. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which came online in July 2006, delivers 1 million b/d of petroleum, and in 2007, the South Caucasus Pipeline (from Shah Deniz) is expected to bring natural gas from Azerbaijan to Turkey. Turkey is building an interconnector pipeline to Greece, an important step in bringing Caspian natural gas to Europe via Turkey.

====Telecommunications====
[[File:Turk map.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Map of Turkey.]]
Parliament enacted legislation separating telecommunications policy and regulatory functions in January 2000, by establishing an independent regulatory body, the Telecommunication Authority. The Authority is responsible for issuing licenses, supervising operators, and taking necessary technical measures against violations of the rules. Most regulatory functions of the Transport Ministry were transferred to the Authority, and the regulator is slowly gaining competence and independence. The long-expected privatization of the state-owned telecommunications company was accomplished by the sale of 55% of Turk Telekom to the Saudi-owned Oger Group in November 2005. With liberalization and growth in the economy, there is growing competition for Internet provision, but Turk Telekom remains the sole provider of ADSL wide band Internet.

====Environment====
[[File:TurkishForest.jpg|thumb|left|280px|Turkish forest.]]
With the establishment of the Environment Ministry in 1991, Turkey began to make significant progress addressing its most pressing environmental problems. The most dramatic improvements were significant reductions of air pollution in Istanbul and Ankara. However, progress has been slow on the remaining—and serious—environmental challenges facing Turkey.

In 2003, the Ministry of Environment was merged with the Forestry Ministry. With its goal to join the EU, Turkey has made commendable progress in updating and modernizing its environmental legislation. However, environmental concerns are not fully integrated into public decision-making and enforcement can be weak. Turkey faces a backlog of environmental problems, requiring enormous outlays for infrastructure. The most pressing needs are for water treatment plants, wastewater treatment facilities, solid waste management, and conservation of biodiversity. The discovery of a number of chemical waste sites in 2006 has highlighted weakness in environmental law and oversight.
{{Clear}}

====Transportation====
The Turkish Government gives a special priority to major infrastructure projects, especially in the transport sector. The government is in the process of building new airports and highways, thanks to an increased public investment budget. The government will realize many of these projects by utilizing the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.

== See also ==
[[File:Blue mosque Istanbul Turkey.jpg|thumb|The Blue Mosque, Istanbul.]]
*[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]]
*[[Battle of Adrianople]]
*[[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]]
*[[Oriental art]]
*[[Göbekli Tepe]]
*[[Catal Huyuk|Çatalhöyük]]
{{Clear}}

== External links ==
*[http://bertschlossberg.blogspot.com/ A Turkish Delight: they think so in Israel also!]

==References==
{{reflist}}

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{{Asian Countries}}

[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:NATO Members]]
[[Category:Turkey]]
[[Category:Muslim-Majority Countries]]

Turkiye

2022-04-29T16:09:17Z

Andrewlee:

For the animal with the same name see [[Turkey (bird)]]

{{Country
|name =''Türkiye Cumhuriyeti''
|map =Turkey rel 2006.jpg
|flag =Flag of Turkey.png
|arms =Emblem of Turkey.svg.png
|capital =Ankara
|capital-raw =
|government =Republic
|government-raw =
|language =Turkish
|king =
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =
|pm-raw =
|area =302,535 sq mi
|pop =85,000,000 (2020)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =$794,000,000,000 (2021)
|gdp-year =
|gdp-pc =$9,327 (2021)
|currency =Turkish lira
|idd =
|tld =
}}
The '''Republic of Turkey''' ('''Republic of Turkiye''') is a transcontinental country occupying the Anatolian Peninsula of [[Western Asia]], as well as a small section of Southeastern [[Europe]] at the Bosporus Strait.

Turkey has a lot of cultural heritage places. It is the land of the Seven Churches of [[Book of Revelation|Revelation]]. 89.5% of its people are [[Muslim]]s<ref>[https://t24.com.tr/haber/optimar-dan-din-inanc-anketi-yuzde-89-allah-in-varligina-ve-birligine-inaniyor,821459 Optimar'dan din-inanç anketi: Yüzde 89 Allah'ın varlığına ve birliğine inanıyor]</ref> and religion doesn't play a pivotal role in their lives. Most of the Turks are said to be cultural or nominal Muslims and continue to practice [[Shamanism|shamanistic]] traditions from pre-Islamic heritage. Although, [[atheism]] and [[deism]] are increasing in Turkey, there is a growing amount of [[Islamism]], largely due to [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan|Erdoğan]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2018/04/turkey-why-so-many-turks-are-losing-faith-in-islam.html|title=Why so many Turks are losing faith in Islam|last=Akyol|first=Mustafa|date=2018-04-16|work=Al-Monitor|access-date=2018-04-21|language=en-us}}</ref><ref>[https://www.dw.com/en/atheism-grows-in-turkey-as-recep-tayyip-erdogan-urges-islam/a-47018029 Atheism grows in Turkey as Recep Tayyip Erdogan urges Islam]</ref><ref>[http://asianews.it/news-en/The-number-of-atheists-increasing-in-Turkey-45956.html The number of atheists increasing in Turkey]</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43981745 The young Turks rejecting Islam]</ref><ref>https://www.thecairoreview.com/essays/turkeys-pan-islamist-foreign-policy/</ref>

Turkey continued the [[Western world|West]]-oriented [[modernization]] initiated by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] dynasty and statesmen. Many things in Turkey contain a mixture of the West and the East, the old and the new, the traditional and the modern. When you visit even the smallest city in Turkey no matter how little its population is, you will find that different cultural elements, traditions, beliefs, languages or dialects live.<ref>[https://www.studyinturkey.gov.tr/StudyinTurkey/ShowDetail?rID=ctfC0sgwTeQ=&&cId=PE4Nr0mMoY4= Culture - Study in Turkey]</ref> Even those who have not done anything related to [[Islam]] in their lives see being Muslim as a part of their identity. Therefore, they may have a negative attitude towards [[Christianity]] or other religions. Because of historical hostilities and bigotry, Turkey is virulently [[Anti-Christian sentiment|anti-Christian]].<ref>https://www.jihadwatch.org/2020/03/turkey-muslims-screaming-allahu-akbar-disrupt-christian-funeral-desecrate-christian-graves</ref> Despite being a [[secular]] and [[Westernization|Westernized]] country, it incites against Christians and the other non-[[Sunni]] religious minorities due to radical nature of Islamic cultural background. It is sometimes debated whether Turkey is a [[secular state]] due to state support for Sunnism. (Sunni clergy are civil servants. Mosques are under state control.) The governing [[Justice and Development Party|AKP]] in Turkey depicts Christians as a "threat to the stability of the nation". Turkish Christian citizens have often been stereotyped as not "real Turks" but as "Western collaborators" by this bigoted and prejudiced point of view.<ref>[https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/israel-zionism/2020/12/how-yasir-arafat-drove-christians-from-bethlehem/ How Yasir Arafat Drove Christians from Bethlehem] D. Weinberg, Mosaic Mag., Dec. 28, 2020.</ref>

==History==
[[Image:St. Sophie Turkey.jpg|right|280px|thumb|Hagia Sophia, Istanbul.]]
[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Mustafa Kemal Pasha]], celebrated by the Turkish State as a Turkish [[World War I]] hero and later known as Atatürk ("Father-Turk"), led the founding of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 after the collapse of the 600-year-old [[Ottoman Empire]] and a three-year war of independence. The empire, which at its peak controlled vast stretches of Northern Africa, Southeastern Europe, and Western Asia, had failed to keep pace with European social and technological developments. The rise of national consciousness impelled several national groups within the Empire to seek independence as nation-states, leading to the empire's fragmentation. This process culminated in the disastrous Ottoman participation in World War I as a German ally. Defeated, shorn of much of its former territory, and partly occupied by forces of the victorious European states, the Ottoman structure was repudiated by Turkish nationalists brought together under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal. The nationalists expelled invading Greek, Armenian, French, British, and Italian forces from Anatolia and Turkish Thrace in a bitter war—and with a diplomatic struggle. After the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey the temporal and religious ruling institutions of the old empire (the sultanate and caliphate) were abolished.

The leaders of the new republic concentrated on consolidating their power and modernizing and Westernizing what had been the empire's core—Asian Anatolia and a part of European Thrace. Social, political, linguistic, and economic reforms and attitudes decreed by Atatürk from 1924-1934 continue to be referred to as the ideological base of modern Turkey. In the post-Atatürk era, and especially after the military coup of 1960, this ideology came to be known as "Kemalism" and his reforms began to be referred to as "revolutions." Kemalism comprises a Turkish form of secularism, strong nationalism, statism, and to a degree a western orientation. The continued validity and applicability of Kemalism are the subject of lively debate in Turkey's political life. The current ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) comes from a tradition that challenges many of the Kemalist precepts and is driven in its reform efforts by a desire to achieve EU accession.

Turkey entered [[World War II]] on the Allied side until shortly before the war ended, becoming a charter member of the [[United Nations]]. Difficulties faced by [[Greece]] after World War II in quelling a communist rebellion and demands by the [[Soviet Union]] for military bases in the Turkish Straits prompted the United States to declare the [[Truman Doctrine]] in 1947. The doctrine enunciated American intentions to guarantee the security of Turkey and Greece and resulted in large scale U.S. military and economic aid under the [[Marshall Plan]]. After participating with United Nations forces in the [[Korean War|Korean conflict]], Turkey in 1952 joined the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] (NATO). Turkey is currently a [[European Union]] candidate, although this has been clouded by their refusal to acknowledge the [[Armenian genocide]].

==Disputed territories==
===Kurdistan===
:{{Main article|Kurdistan}}

===Liwa Iskanderoun (Hatay)===
In 1939, Turkey annexed Hatay State, the former Syrian ''liwa'' of Iskanderoun. However, Syrian maps continue to include Hatay as part of Syrian territory.<ref>https://carnegie-mec.org/diwan/54340?lang=en</ref>

==People==
[[File:Istiklal Caddesi 06 24 09 0068.jpg|thumb|right|A busy day on İstiklal Avenue, Istanbul.]]
Modern Turkey encompasses bustling [[cosmopolitan]] centers, pastoral farming villages, barren wastelands, peaceful Aegean coastlines, and steep mountain regions. More than half of Turkey's population lives in urban areas that juxtapose Western lifestyles with more traditional ways of life.

Turkey is officially a [[secular state|secular]] country with no official religion since the constitutional amendment in 1928 and later strengthened by Atatürk's Reforms and the appliance of laicism by the country's founder and first president [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]] on February 5, 1937. Due to oppression of [[Christianity]], Turkey's population is nearly entirely (at least cultural) [[Muslim]]. Most Turkish Muslims follow the [[Sunni]] traditions of Islam, although a significant number follow Alevi and [[Shiite]] traditions. Questions regarding role of religion in society and government, the role of linguistic and ethnic identity, and the public's expectation to live in security dominate public discourse. Turkish citizens who assert a [[Kurds|Kurdish]] identity constitute an ethnic and linguistic group that is estimated at up to 12 million in number.
[[File:Iskenderun church.jpg|thumb|right|St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in İskenderun, Hatay.]]
*Population (2018): 82 million.
*Annual population growth rate (2017 est.): 1.24%.
*Ethnic groups: Turkish, Kurdish, other.
*Religions: Muslim (majority), Christian, [[Baha'i Faith|Baha'i]], and Jewish.
*Languages: Turkish (official and majority), Kurdish, Zaza, Arabic, Armenian, Greek.
*Education: Years compulsory—8. Attendance—97.6%. Literacy—86.5%. ''(it's not current data)''
*Health: Infant mortality rate—39.4/1,000. Life expectancy—68.5 yrs. ''(it's not current data)''
*Work force (23 million): Agriculture—35.6%; industry—17.5%; services—47.2%. ''(it's not current data)''

==Government and political conditions==
The 1982 Constitution, drafted by the military in the wake of a 1980 military coup, proclaims Turkey's system of government as [[democracy|democratic]], [[secular state|secular]], and [[Parliamentary Republic|parliamentary]]. A [[Presidential Government|presidential system]] was adopted with a referendum in 2017; the new system came into effect with the presidential election in 2018 and gives the President complete control of the executive, including the power to issue decrees, appoint his own cabinet, draw up the budget, dissolve parliament by calling early elections, and pack the bureaucracy and the courts with political appointees. The office of Prime Minister has been abolished and its powers (together with those of the Cabinet) have been transferred to the President, who is the head of state and is elected for a five-year term by direct elections. [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] is the first president elected by direct voting. Turkey's constitution governs the legal framework of the country. It sets out the main principles of government and establishes Turkey as a unitary centralized state.

Executive power is exercized by the President, while the legislative power is vested in the unicameral parliament, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The judiciary is nominally independent from the executive and the legislature, but the constitutional changes that came into effect with the referendums in 2007, 2010 and 2017 gave larger powers to the President and the ruling party for appointing or dismissing judges and prosecutors. The Constitutional Court is charged with ruling on the conformity of laws and decrees with the constitution. The Council of State is the tribunal of last resort for administrative cases, and the High Court of Appeals for all others.
[[File:Turkish Parliament in Ankara.jpg|thumb|300px|The Parliament in Ankara.]]

Universal suffrage for both sexes has been applied throughout Turkey since 1933 and before most countries, and every Turkish citizen who has turned 18 years of age has the right to vote. There are 600 members of parliament who are elected for a five-year term by a party-list proportional representation system from 85 electoral districts. The Constitutional Court can strip the public financing of political parties that it deems anti-secular or separatist, or ban their existence altogether. The electoral threshold is 10 percent of the votes.

Supporters of [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Atatürk]]'s reforms are called Kemalists, as distinguished from [[Islamism|Islamists]], representing the two diverging views regarding the role of religion in legislation, education and public life. The Kemalist view supports a form of democracy with a laicist [[constitution]] and Westernized secular lifestyle, while maintaining the necessity of state intervention in the economy, education and other public services. Since its foundation as a republic in 1923, Turkey has developed a strong tradition of secularism. However, since the 1980s, issues such as income inequality and class distinction have given rise to Islamic [[populism]], a movement that supports a larger role for religion in government policies, and in theory supports obligation to authority, communal solidarity and social justice; though what that entails in practice is often contested. Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the [[Justice and Development Party]] has been described as becoming increasingly authoritarian. Prior to the constitutional referendum in 2017 the Council of Europe saw Turkey drifting towards an autocracy, warning of a "dramatic regression of its democratic order". Many elements in the constitutional reform package that was approved with the referendum in 2017 have increased concerns in the European Union regarding democracy and the separation of powers in Turkey.

As of 2017 the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index rates Turkey at 4.88 (on a 0–10 scale), classifying Turkey as a Hybrid Regime. In 2018, Freedom House rated Turkey at 32 (on a 0–100 scale) as Not Free.

Human-right abuses, especially against [[Christians]] remains a problem<ref>http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78844.htm</ref> and the frequency of violent attacks on Christian ministers and priests is still high.<ref>http://washingtontimes.com/upi/20070418-030533-9552</ref><ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5139408.stm</ref>

The [[Kurdish Worker Party]] (PKK), an [[far-left|extreme]] [[leftist]] ethnic nationalist and [[separatism|separatist]] –originally [[Marxism-Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]]– [[terrorism|terrorist]] organization, founded in 1978, seeks the foundation of an independent [[socialism|socialist]] [[Kurds|Kurdish]] state.<ref name="Jongerden">{{Cite journal|last=Jongerden|first=Joost|date=2017-10-01|title=Gender equality and radical democracy: Contractions and conflicts in relation to the "new paradigm" within the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)|url=https://journals.openedition.org/anatoli/618|journal=Anatoli. De l'Adriatique à la Caspienne. Territoires, Politique, Sociétés|language=en|issue=8|pages=233–256|doi=10.4000/anatoli.618|issn=2111-4064}}</ref> It is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey,<ref name="RadioFrance">{{cite news|url=http://www.english.rfi.fr/asia-pacific/20140116-turkey-spy-agency-denies-role-paris-kurds-murder-launches-probe|title=Turkey spy agency denies role in Paris Kurds murder, launches probe|date=16 January 2014|publisher=Radio France Internationale|access-date=5 February 2014}}</ref> the [[United States]],<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|title=Foreign Terrorist Organizations|url=https://www.state.gov/foreign-terrorist-organizations/|access-date=2021-03-10|website=United States Department of State|language=en-US}}</ref> the [[European Union]],<ref name=":10">{{Cite web|title=Turkey 2019 Report|url=https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/sites/near/files/20190529-turkey-report.pdf|access-date=16 December 2019|website=ec.europa.eu|page=5}}</ref> and some other countries.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web|last=department|first=Attorney-General's|title=Listed terrorist organisations|url=https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205054738/http://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx|archive-date=5 February 2016|access-date=18 December 2019|website=www.nationalsecurity.gov.au|language=en-au}}</ref><ref name="Japan_ban">{{cite web|title=MOFA: Implementation of the Measures including the Freezing of Assets against Terrorists and the Like|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406134416/http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html|archive-date=6 April 2013|access-date=21 November 2013}}</ref> The PKK was formed as part of the Kurdish nationalist schism within the Turkish [[communism|communist]] movement<ref name="Jongerden"/> and the growing discontent over the suppression of Turkey's Kurds, in an effort to establish linguistic, cultural, and political rights for the Kurdish minority.<ref name="Palgrave Macmillan">{{cite book|last1=Joseph|first1=J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G06BDAAAQBAJ|title=Turkey and the European Union internal dynamics and external challenges|date=2006|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|isbn=0230598587|location=Basingstoke [England]|page=100}}</ref> Following the military coup of 1980, the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in public and private life to prevent separatism.<ref name="NYTK">Toumani, Meline. [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/magazine/17turkey-t.html?ex=1361854800&en=df64cf85326e2103&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink Minority Rules], ''[[New York Times]]'', 17 February 2008</ref> Many who spoke, published, or sang in Kurdish were arrested and imprisoned.<ref name="Cambridge University Press">{{cite book|last1=Aslan|first1=Senem|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wTAWBQAAQBAJ|title=Nation Building in Turkey and Morocco|date=2014|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1107054608|page=134}}</ref> The PKK's response to these policies has been the bombing of downtowns, the massacre of civilians, and the destruction of schools and hospitals in the Kurdish-majority cities of Turkey.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10576100701558620|doi = 10.1080/10576100701558620|title = The Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) as Criminal Syndicate: Funding Terrorism through Organized Crime, A Case Study|year = 2007|last1 = Roth|first1 = Mitchel P.|last2 = Sever|first2 = Murat|journal = Studies in Conflict & Terrorism|volume = 30|issue = 10|pages = 901–920|s2cid = 110700560}}</ref><ref name="amnestysecurity"/><ref name="childsoldiers"/> It has faced condemnation by some countries and human rights organizations for the killing of teachers and civil servants,<ref name="amnestysecurity">{{Cite web | url = https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a9ea0.html | title = No Security Without Human Rights | publisher = [[Amnesty International]] | access-date = 1 February 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Öğretmen Necmettin Yılmaz'ın Öldürülmesini Kınıyoruz!|url=https://www.ihd.org.tr/ogretmen-necmettin-yilmazin-oldurulmesini-kiniyoruz/|access-date=2021-03-12|website=[[İnsan Hakları Derneği]]|language=tr}}</ref> using [[Suicide attack|suicide bombers]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Foreign diplomats, countries condemn Cizre attack - World News|url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/foreign-diplomats-countries-condemn-cizre-attack-103271|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Hürriyet Daily News|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=PKK claims deadly suicide bombing at Turkish police station|url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-claims-responsibility-suicide-bombing-left-11-dead-turkey-1381604350|access-date=27 December 2018|website=Middle East Eye|archive-date=14 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214114351/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-claims-responsibility-suicide-bombing-left-11-dead-turkey-1381604350|url-status=dead}}</ref> and recruiting child soldiers.<ref name="childsoldiers">{{Cite web | url = https://www.refworld.org/docid/498805c428.html | title = Child Soldiers Global Report 2001 - Turkey | publisher = [[Child Soldiers International]] | access-date = 1 February 2021 }}</ref><ref name="HRWCS">{{Cite web|date=2016-12-22|title=Iraq: Armed Groups Using Child Soldiers|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/12/22/iraq-armed-groups-using-child-soldiers-0|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Human Rights Watch|language=en}}</ref> It was armed by the [[Obama administration]].<ref>https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/antifa-ypg-pkk-ties-threaten-national-peace-in-west/1899520</ref> The PKK trained [[Antifa]] fighters in Northern [[Syria]].<ref>https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/war-on-terror/ypgpkk-recruited-foreign-fighters-from-antifa-groups-in-western-countries-report-says</ref>

[[File:Ankara panorama Turkey.jpg|thumb|center|700px|The capital Ankara.]]

{{Clear}}
===Principal government officials===
*President of the Republic — Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
*Vice President of the Republic — Fuat Oktay

===Foreign relations===
[[File:Turkish girls laughing in calimanesti.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Turkish dancers in a festival in [[Romania]].]]
Turkey's primary political, economic, and security ties are with the West, although some voices call for a more "Eurasian" orientation.

Turkey entered NATO in 1952 and serves as the organization's vital eastern anchor, controlling the straits leading from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and sharing a border with Syria, Iraq, and Iran. A NATO headquarters is located in Izmir. Besides its relationships with NATO and the EU, Turkey is a member of the OECD, the Council of Europe, and OSCE. Turkey also is a member of the UN and the Islamic Conference Organization (OIC). In December 1999, Turkey became a candidate for EU membership. On December 17, 2004, the EU decided to begin formal accession negotiations with Turkey in October 2005.

Turkey and the EU formed a customs union beginning January 1, 1996. The agreement covers industrial and processed agricultural goods. Turkey is harmonizing its laws and regulations with EU standards. Turkey adopted the EU's Common External Tariff regime, effectively lowering Turkey's tariffs for third countries, including the United States.

On October 3, 2005, Turkey and the EU reached agreement for Turkey to begin negotiations on accession to the European Union. Turkey and EU officials have begun the process of screening Turkey's laws and policies in order to begin negotiating the individual chapters required for ultimate EU accession. However, this admission request has not been without criticism,<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2420697.stm</ref> including:
*Serious human rights violations<ref>http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20070419-0809-italy-turkey-eu.html</ref>
*Refusal to admit genocide of [[Armenia]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6043730.stm</ref>
*Refusal to recognize [[Cyprus]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6153186.stm</ref>
*Only 3% of Turkey is in [[Europe]]
*Threat of increasing [[Islamic]] fundamentalism<ref>http://www.freemuslims.org/news/article.php?article=1761</ref>

Turkey opened and provisionally closed in 2006 one EU negotiating chapter on science and technology. Another chapter on statistics was opened in February 2007, and two more are expected to be opened by July 1, 2007. Eight chapters, mostly related to trade, were suspended by the European Council in December 2006 after Turkey declined to open its ports and airports to Cypriot vessels—a commitment Turkey made as part of the Ankara Protocol and its EU Customs Union membership.

Turkey is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It has signed free trade agreements with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Israel, and many other countries. In 1992 Turkey and 10 other regional nations formed the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Council to expand regional trade and economic cooperation. Turkey chaired BSEC in 2007 and hosted in Istanbul the 15th BSEC Summit in June 2007.

====Relations with the United States====
U.S.-Turkish friendship dates to the late 18th century and was officially sealed by a treaty in 1830. The present close relationship began with the agreement of July 12, 1947, which implemented the Truman Doctrine. As part of the cooperative effort to further Turkish economic and military self-reliance, the United States has loaned and granted Turkey more than $12.5 billion in economic aid and more than $14 billion in military assistance.

U.S.-Turkish relations focus on areas such as strategic energy cooperation, trade and investment, security ties, regional stability, the global war on terrorism, and human rights progress. Relations were strained when Turkey refused in March 2003 to allow U.S. troops to deploy through its territory to Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom, but regained momentum steadily thereafter and mutual interests remain strong across a wide spectrum of issues. On July 5, 2006, Secretary Rice and then-Foreign Minister Gül signed a Shared Vision Statement to highlight the common values and goals between our two countries and to lay out a framework for increased strategic dialogue.

The U.S. and Turkey have had a Joint Economic Commission and a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, which last met in Washington in April 2007, for several years. In 2002, the two countries indicated their joint intent to upgrade bilateral economic relations by launching an Economic Partnership Commission, which last convened in Ankara in February 2007. In 2006, Turkish exports to the U.S. totaled about $5.4 billion, and U.S. exports to Turkey totaled $5.7 billion.

[[Condoleezza Rice]] ones described Turkey as “a vital and strategic partner of the United States”. But since the tenure of [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] these times are over.<ref>https://www.nationalreview.com/article/348422/erdo%C4%9Fan%E2%80%99s-agenda</ref> Erdoğan - a dictator<ref>[https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/11/turkey-erdogan-coup-hdp-pkk-syria-gulen-ypg Turkey's Fascist Slide] Güney Işıkara, Alp Kayserilioğlu, Max Zirngast, Jacobin, Nov 10, 2016.
Turkish president Erdoğan is wielding the state to attack anyone who won't capitulate to his authoritarian rule.</ref><ref>[https://m.imdb.com/title/tt7054718/ Erdogan: The Dictator's Republic], Imbd,
2017</ref><ref>[https://stockholmcf.org/turkish-journalist-goes-on-trial-for-insulting-erdogan-in-fascist-dictatorship-column/ Turkish journalist goes on trial for insulting Erdoğan in ‘fascist dictatorship’ column] SCF, June 28, 2018</ref><ref>[https://euobserver.com/political/147624 What does Erdoğan want?] Robert Debeuf, EU Observer, Mar 4, 2020.

"Shameful...unacceptable....blackmail...dictator." European leaders didn't spare their words to condemn Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan after his decision on Friday (28 February) to open its border with Greece and let refugees enter into Europe.

On Monday, Erdoğan stepped up his game warning that "millions" of refugees would come to Europe.

He also said he refused €1m in extra cash, saying "we don't want this money".

Despite this statement, former Nato secretary-general Willy Claes said on Belgian television that Erdogan is "a dictator" and that "all he wants is money".</ref><ref>[https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/11/16/biden-action-against-erdogan/amp/ Will Biden Turn His Words Against Dictator Erdoğan Into Action?]Adulrahman Taleb, Greek City Times, Nov 16, 2020.
Furthermore, Biden openly attacked dictator Erdoğan and called him an “autocrat” and promised that he will work with the opposition parties.</ref><ref>[https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/12/31/what-the-biden-presidency-means-for-turkey-and-erdogan-post-trump.html Erdogan should be very, very worried': What the Biden presidency means for Turkey] Natasha Turak, CNBC, Dec 31, 2020.
In an interview last January, Biden called Erdogan an “autocrat,” criticized his actions toward the Kurds..</ref><ref>[https://amp.france24.com/en/20190313-netanyahu-hits-back-turkeys-dictator-erdogan Netanyahu hits back at 'Turkey's dictator Erdogan'], ''France 24'', Mar 13, 2019.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday slammed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a "dictator" and "a joke"...</ref> ethnic-cleanser, oppressor, Islamist<ref>[https://www.theglobalist.com/turkey-recep-tayyip-erdogan-eu-nato-kurds-islamism/ J’Accuse Erdogan] Alon Ben-Meir, Globalist, July 9, 2020.

The weaker Recep Tayyip Erdogan is at home politically, the longer the list of the Turkish President’s transgressions gets.
<blockquote>
A preliminary list of Erdogan’s transgressions

For evidence, it is useful to assemble the list of transgressions that seem to be the only category Erdogan still seems to “excel” in.
Most fundamentally, Erdogan is violating every article of human rights in his own country, while being keen on destabilizing other countries by exploiting their weaknesses and resources in order to promote his nationalist agenda.

I count altogether 13 specific major transgressions:

1.Erdogan continues to commit gross human rights violations in Turkey by using the failed 2016 military coup as an excuse to silence the media.
Based on a judiciary that, for the most part, barely deserves that name, Erdogan has jailed over 150 journalists, incarcerated around 80,000 suspected of affiliation with the Gülen movement and purged 150,000 military officers and civil servants.

2.Erdogan engages in a systematic operation of ethnic cleansing against minorities in Turkey and northern Syria.

He invaded Syria to both prevent the Syrian Kurdish community from establishing autonomous rule, and to entrench for Turkey a permanent foothold in the country, which is bound to only prolong the conflict and further destabilize the region.

3.Erdogan systematically persecutes his own Kurdish community and continues a 50-year-old war against the PKK, which he views as a terrorist organization.

He also steadfastly refuses to resume negotiations with the Kurds — which account for as much as 20% of Turkey’s population — and end the carnage that has taken the lives of approximately 40,000 on both sides.

4.Erdogan purchased Russia’s S-400 air defense system which, once operational, NATO fears would seriously compromise the alliance’s intelligence sharing and technology — apart from being fully incompatible with NATO systems.

5.Erdogan invested heavily in promoting his Islamic agenda by supporting anti-Western Islamist extremist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and even ISIS.

6.Erdogan uses Islam as a political tool by building mosques and other Islamic theological institutions. He also sends his imams to teach and preach his brand of religious nationalism in many countries in the Middle East and the Balkans.

7.Erdogan violated U.S. sanctions against Iran by laundering up to $20 billion in an oil-for-gold scheme from 2012-2018, and he continues to cooperate and trade with Tehran in defiance of Western interests.

8.Erdogan made a deal with Putin in late 2019 to patrol northern Syria while working closely with Moscow and Tehran to delineate their spheres of influence in the country. He is thus leaving Syria de facto a divided state under their control, while significantly diminishing what’s left of Western influence.

9.Erdogan sent troops to support Libya’s Government of National Accord in an effort to establish a strong foothold in the country, exploiting its oil and gas and threatening the free flow of energy from the Eastern Mediterranean.

10.Erdogan violated a UN arms embargo while resisting NATO’s peace plans in Libya, including exercising extreme aggression against NATO ally France’s warship enforcing the embargo.

11.Erdogan blocked a NATO defense plan for the Baltics and Poland and regularly intimidates Greece, a NATO member state, violating the country’s airspace with Turkish military jets.

12.Erdogan is adamant about drilling for gas in the territorial waters of Cyprus and has begun plans to expand drilling off the coast of the Greek island of Crete.

In that pursuit, he remains at odds with Greece, Cyprus, Egypt and Israel over ownership of natural resources, threatening to use force to secure “his share” which could burgeon into a violent conflict.

13.Last but not least, Erdogan perpetuated the heated conflict with Cyprus over his demand that his puppet — the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus — enjoy equal political power to the Republic of Cyprus, which is four times larger in population and territory and is an EU member state.</blockquote></ref><ref>[https://www.politico.eu/article/mario-draghi-dictator-recep-tayyip-erdogan-sofagate/ Italy’s Draghi slams Erdoğan as a ‘dictator’ after Sofagate] Giorgio Leali, Politico, April 8, 2021.

Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi slammed Turkish Presiden Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.</ref> fascist.<ref>[https://turkeypurge.com/exiled-novelist-asli-erdogan-turkey-has-a-fascist-regime-it-is-not-yet-1940s-germany-but-1930s Exiled novelist Aslı Erdoğan: Turkey has a fascist regime. It is not yet 1940s Germany, but 1930s] TurkeyPurge, Aug 6, 2018</ref><ref>[https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article/turkey-turning-into-fascist-dictatorship-meps-told Turkey turning into "fascist dictatorship", MEPs told] Martin Banks, The Parliament Magazine,, Nov 8, 2016

A leading Turkish opposition parliamentarian says that Turkey has been turned into a "fascist dictatorship" under its President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.</ref><ref>[https://amp2.handelsblatt.com/recep-tayyip-erdogan-birth-of-a-dictator/23540062.html Recep Tayyip Erdogan: Birth of a Dictator] von John Blau, Handelsblatt, Dec 8, 2016.</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/19/jailed-turkish-editor-can-dundar-slams-eu-deal-with-erdogans-fascist-governmentJailed Turkish Editor slams EU deal with Erdogan's fascist government], Kareem Shaheen, Guardian, January 19, 2016</ref><ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/theworldpost/wp/2018/06/25/erdogan/ Opinion: Turkey takes a big step toward nationalist fascism] Omer Taspinar, Washington Post, June 25, 2018</ref> For example, he equated [[Zionism]] with [[Fascism]], [[John Kerry]] criticized him for this statement.<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/01/official-kerry-to-rap-turkey-pm-for-remark/</ref> Yet, after Erdogan previously using extreme silly diatribe against Israel, he changed his attitude towards Israel. In Mar 2022,<ref>AFP News Agency@AFP·2h#UPDATE Israel and Turkey proclaimed a new era in relations on Wednesday following more than a decade of diplomatic rupture, as Israeli President Isaac Herzog made a landmark visit to Ankara. ([http://twitter.com/AFP/status/1501659337646911499 Mar 9, 2022]).</ref> [[Israel]] and Turkey proclaimed a new era in relations on Wednesday following more than a decade of diplomatic rupture, as Israeli President Isaac Herzog made a landmark visit to Ankara.

====Support for Nazism====
Turkey has been supplying large numbers of attack drones to [[Ukrainian]] [[neo-Nazi]]s. <ref>https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/04/27/drones-russia-ukraine-war-donbas/</ref>

==Economy==
[[Image:Framed medallion Turkey.jpg|300px|thumb|Framed medallion.]]
Turkey is a large, middle-income country with relatively few natural resources. Its economy is currently in transition from a high degree of reliance on agriculture and heavy industrial economy to a more diversified economy with an increasingly large and globalized services sector. Coming out of a tradition of a state-directed economy that was relatively closed to the outside world, Prime Minister and then President Turgut Özal began to open up the economy in the 1980s, leading to the signing of a Customs Union with the European Union in 1995. In the 1990s, Turkey's economy suffered from a series of coalition governments with weak economic policies, leading to high-inflation boom-and-bust cycles that culminated in a severe banking and economic crisis in 2001 and a deep economic downturn (GNP fell 9.5% in 2001) and increase in unemployment.

Turkey's economy has recovered strongly from the 2001 thanks to good monetary and fiscal policies and structural economic reforms made with the support of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The independence of the Central Bank has been firmly established, a floating exchange rate system has been put in place, and the government's overall budget deficit has been substantially reduced. In addition, there have been substantial reforms in the financial, energy, and telecommunications sectors that have included the privatization of several large state-owned institutions.

Turkey's economy grew an average of 7.5% per year from 2002 through 2006—one of the highest sustained rates of growth in the world. It is expected to grow about 6.1% in 2007. Inflation and interest rates have fallen significantly, the currency has stabilized, government debt has declined to more supportable levels, and business and consumer confidence have returned. At the same time, booming economic growth has contributed to a growing current account deficit. Though Turkey's vulnerabilities have been greatly reduced, the economy could still face problems in the event there is a sudden change in investor sentiment that leads to a sharp fall in the exchange rate. Continued implementation of reforms, including tight fiscal policy, is essential to sustain growth and stability.

After years of low levels of foreign direct investment (FDI), in 2006, Turkey succeeded in attracting $18.9 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) and is expected to attract a similar level in 2007. A series of large privatizations, the stability fostered by the start of Turkey's EU accession negotiations, strong and stable growth, and structural changes in the banking, retail, and telecommunications sectors have all contributed to the rise in foreign investment. Turkey has taken steps to improve its investment climate through administrative streamlining, an end to foreign investment screening, and strengthened intellectual property legislation. However, a number of disputes involving foreign investors in Turkey and certain policies, such as high taxation and continuing gaps in the intellectual property regime, inhibit investment. Turkey has a number of bilateral investment and tax treaties, including with the United States, which guarantee free repatriation of capital in convertible currencies and eliminate double taxation.
*GDP: $750 billion (2020)
*GDP per capita: $8,824 (2020)
*Annual real GDP growth rate: (2004) (+) 8.9%; (2005) 7.4%; (2006) 6.0%.
*Annual inflation rate /CPI: (2003) 18.4%; (2004) 9.3%; (2005) 7.7%; (2006) 9.7%.
*Natural resources: Coal, chromium, mercury, copper, boron, oil, gold.
*Agriculture (10.8% of GNP): Major cash crops—cotton, sugar beets, hazelnuts, wheat, barley, and tobacco. Provides 26% of jobs and 4% of exports.
*Industry (25.4% of GNP): Major growth sector, types—automotive, electronics, food processing, textiles, basic metals, chemicals, and petrochemicals. Provides 20% of jobs.
*Trade: Exports (merchandise)--(2005) $73.1 billion; (2006) $83.5 billion: textiles and apparel, industrial machinery, iron and steel, electronics, petroleum products, and motor vehicles. Imports (merchandise)--(2005) $116 billion; (2006) 135.5 billion: petroleum, machinery, motor vehicles, electronics, iron and steel, plastics precious metals. Major partners—Germany, U.S., Italy, France, Russia, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, U.K.

====European Union accession====
Turkey's principal ongoing economic challenge is providing for the needs of a fast-growing, young population. Raising living standards to those prevalent in Europe will require high rates of GDP growth sustained over many years. This will entail continued structural reforms that encourage both domestic and foreign investment. Principal areas for reform identified by international financial intuitions include increasing flexibility in the labor market, making the educational sector more responsive to the needs of the economy and ensuring faster and more predictable operation of the judicial system. As an aspirant to membership in the European Union, Turkey aims to adopt the EU's basic system of national law and regulation (the acquis communautaire) by 2014. While implementing some elements of the acquis will be costly and difficult (for example in the areas of environmental protection and agriculture), its adoption will make a significant contribution to modernizing the economy.

====Energy====
[[File:Electric Energy Grid Turkey.jpg|thumb|360px|Electric Energy Grid.]]
Installed electricity generation capacity in Turkey reached 35,600 megawatts (MW) as of 2004. Fossil fuels account for 71% of the total installed capacity and hydro, geothermal, and wind account for the remaining 28%. The growth in electricity generation has remained below electricity demand until recently, which has made Turkey a net importer of electricity since 1997. The growth of energy demand slowed somewhat as a result of the 2001 economic crisis, but has picked up again. Turkish authorities expect a significant electricity shortfall unless new facilities become operational. The Government of Turkey took some important steps in 2001 to liberalize its energy sector, including passage of the Electricity Market Law and establishment of the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA). However, the government has moved slowly to follow through on plans to liberalize and privatize the electricity and natural gas sectors. In 2004, the High Planning Council approved the Electricity Sector Reform Strategy to renew the reform process.

Oil provides about 43% of Turkey's total energy requirements; around 90% is imported. Domestic production is mostly from small fields in the southeast. New exploration is taking place in the eastern Black Sea. In 2004, the Parliament approved a petroleum market reform bill that liberalized consumer prices and would lead to the privatization of the state refining company TUPRAS. TUPRAS was privatized in 2005, but this has been held up by court cases still in process. Turkey has a refining capacity of 802,275 barrels per day (b/d).

Turkey acts as an important link in the East-West Southern Energy Corridor bringing Caspian, Central Asian, and Middle Eastern energy to Europe and world markets. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which came online in July 2006, delivers 1 million b/d of petroleum, and in 2007, the South Caucasus Pipeline (from Shah Deniz) is expected to bring natural gas from Azerbaijan to Turkey. Turkey is building an interconnector pipeline to Greece, an important step in bringing Caspian natural gas to Europe via Turkey.

====Telecommunications====
[[File:Turk map.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Map of Turkey.]]
Parliament enacted legislation separating telecommunications policy and regulatory functions in January 2000, by establishing an independent regulatory body, the Telecommunication Authority. The Authority is responsible for issuing licenses, supervising operators, and taking necessary technical measures against violations of the rules. Most regulatory functions of the Transport Ministry were transferred to the Authority, and the regulator is slowly gaining competence and independence. The long-expected privatization of the state-owned telecommunications company was accomplished by the sale of 55% of Turk Telekom to the Saudi-owned Oger Group in November 2005. With liberalization and growth in the economy, there is growing competition for Internet provision, but Turk Telekom remains the sole provider of ADSL wide band Internet.

====Environment====
[[File:TurkishForest.jpg|thumb|left|280px|Turkish forest.]]
With the establishment of the Environment Ministry in 1991, Turkey began to make significant progress addressing its most pressing environmental problems. The most dramatic improvements were significant reductions of air pollution in Istanbul and Ankara. However, progress has been slow on the remaining—and serious—environmental challenges facing Turkey.

In 2003, the Ministry of Environment was merged with the Forestry Ministry. With its goal to join the EU, Turkey has made commendable progress in updating and modernizing its environmental legislation. However, environmental concerns are not fully integrated into public decision-making and enforcement can be weak. Turkey faces a backlog of environmental problems, requiring enormous outlays for infrastructure. The most pressing needs are for water treatment plants, wastewater treatment facilities, solid waste management, and conservation of biodiversity. The discovery of a number of chemical waste sites in 2006 has highlighted weakness in environmental law and oversight.
{{Clear}}

====Transportation====
The Turkish Government gives a special priority to major infrastructure projects, especially in the transport sector. The government is in the process of building new airports and highways, thanks to an increased public investment budget. The government will realize many of these projects by utilizing the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.

== See also ==
[[File:Blue mosque Istanbul Turkey.jpg|thumb|The Blue Mosque, Istanbul.]]
*[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]]
*[[Battle of Adrianople]]
*[[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]]
*[[Oriental art]]
*[[Göbekli Tepe]]
*[[Catal Huyuk|Çatalhöyük]]
{{Clear}}

== External links ==
*[http://bertschlossberg.blogspot.com/ A Turkish Delight: they think so in Israel also!]

==References==
{{reflist}}

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|style=" background-color: none;"| This work is in the [[Public Domain]] in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the U.S. Code
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{{Asian Countries}}

[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:NATO Members]]
[[Category:Turkey]]
[[Category:Muslim-Majority Countries]]

Turkiye

2022-04-29T15:56:15Z

Andrewlee: /* References */Governments policies cannot be attributed to the entire country. And also, it's a U.S. ally country.

For the animal with the same name see [[Turkey (bird)]]

{{Country
|name =''Türkiye Cumhuriyeti''
|map =Turkey rel 2006.jpg
|flag =Flag of Turkey.png
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|capital =Ankara
|capital-raw =
|government =Republic
|government-raw =
|language =Turkish
|king =
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
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|pm-raw =
|area =302,535 sq mi
|pop =85,000,000 (2020)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =$794,000,000,000 (2021)
|gdp-year =
|gdp-pc =$9,327 (2021)
|currency =Turkish lira
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}}
The '''Republic of Turkey''' ('''Republic of Turkiye''') is a transcontinental country occupying the Anatolian Peninsula of [[Western Asia]], as well as a small section of Southeastern [[Europe]] at the Bosporus Strait.

Turkey has a lot of cultural heritage places. It is the land of the Seven Churches of [[Book of Revelation|Revelation]]. 89.5% of its people are [[Muslim]]s<ref>[https://t24.com.tr/haber/optimar-dan-din-inanc-anketi-yuzde-89-allah-in-varligina-ve-birligine-inaniyor,821459 Optimar'dan din-inanç anketi: Yüzde 89 Allah'ın varlığına ve birliğine inanıyor]</ref> and religion doesn't play a pivotal role in their lives. Most of the Turks are said to be cultural or nominal Muslims and continue to practice [[Shamanism|shamanistic]] traditions from pre-Islamic heritage. Although, [[atheism]] and [[deism]] are increasing in Turkey, there is a growing amount of [[Islamism]], largely due to [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan|Erdoğan]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2018/04/turkey-why-so-many-turks-are-losing-faith-in-islam.html|title=Why so many Turks are losing faith in Islam|last=Akyol|first=Mustafa|date=2018-04-16|work=Al-Monitor|access-date=2018-04-21|language=en-us}}</ref><ref>[https://www.dw.com/en/atheism-grows-in-turkey-as-recep-tayyip-erdogan-urges-islam/a-47018029 Atheism grows in Turkey as Recep Tayyip Erdogan urges Islam]</ref><ref>[http://asianews.it/news-en/The-number-of-atheists-increasing-in-Turkey-45956.html The number of atheists increasing in Turkey]</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43981745 The young Turks rejecting Islam]</ref><ref>https://www.thecairoreview.com/essays/turkeys-pan-islamist-foreign-policy/</ref>

Turkey continued the [[Western world|West]]-oriented [[modernization]] initiated by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] dynasty and statesmen. Many things in Turkey contain a mixture of the West and the East, the old and the new, the traditional and the modern. When you visit even the smallest city in Turkey no matter how little its population is, you will find that different cultural elements, traditions, beliefs, languages or dialects live.<ref>[https://www.studyinturkey.gov.tr/StudyinTurkey/ShowDetail?rID=ctfC0sgwTeQ=&&cId=PE4Nr0mMoY4= Culture - Study in Turkey]</ref> Even those who have not done anything related to [[Islam]] in their lives see being Muslim as a part of their identity. Therefore, they may have a negative attitude towards [[Christianity]] or other religions. Because of historical hostilities and bigotry, Turkey is virulently [[Anti-Christian sentiment|anti-Christian]].<ref>https://www.jihadwatch.org/2020/03/turkey-muslims-screaming-allahu-akbar-disrupt-christian-funeral-desecrate-christian-graves</ref> Despite being a [[secular]] and [[Westernization|Westernized]] country, it incites against Christians and the other non-[[Sunni]] religious minorities due to radical nature of Islamic cultural background. It is sometimes debated whether Turkey is a [[secular state]] due to state support for Sunnism. (Sunni clergy are civil servants. Mosques are under state control.) The governing [[Justice and Development Party|AKP]] in Turkey depicts Christians as a "threat to the stability of the nation". Turkish Christian citizens have often been stereotyped as not "real Turks" but as "Western collaborators" by this bigoted and prejudiced point of view.<ref>[https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/israel-zionism/2020/12/how-yasir-arafat-drove-christians-from-bethlehem/ How Yasir Arafat Drove Christians from Bethlehem] D. Weinberg, Mosaic Mag., Dec. 28, 2020.</ref>

==History==
[[Image:St. Sophie Turkey.jpg|right|280px|thumb|Hagia Sophia, Istanbul.]]
[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Mustafa Kemal Pasha]], celebrated by the Turkish State as a Turkish [[World War I]] hero and later known as Atatürk ("Father-Turk"), led the founding of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 after the collapse of the 600-year-old [[Ottoman Empire]] and a three-year war of independence. The empire, which at its peak controlled vast stretches of Northern Africa, Southeastern Europe, and Western Asia, had failed to keep pace with European social and technological developments. The rise of national consciousness impelled several national groups within the Empire to seek independence as nation-states, leading to the empire's fragmentation. This process culminated in the disastrous Ottoman participation in World War I as a German ally. Defeated, shorn of much of its former territory, and partly occupied by forces of the victorious European states, the Ottoman structure was repudiated by Turkish nationalists brought together under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal. The nationalists expelled invading Greek, Armenian, French, British, and Italian forces from Anatolia and Turkish Thrace in a bitter war—and with a diplomatic struggle. After the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey the temporal and religious ruling institutions of the old empire (the sultanate and caliphate) were abolished.

The leaders of the new republic concentrated on consolidating their power and modernizing and Westernizing what had been the empire's core—Asian Anatolia and a part of European Thrace. Social, political, linguistic, and economic reforms and attitudes decreed by Atatürk from 1924-1934 continue to be referred to as the ideological base of modern Turkey. In the post-Atatürk era, and especially after the military coup of 1960, this ideology came to be known as "Kemalism" and his reforms began to be referred to as "revolutions." Kemalism comprises a Turkish form of secularism, strong nationalism, statism, and to a degree a western orientation. The continued validity and applicability of Kemalism are the subject of lively debate in Turkey's political life. The current ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) comes from a tradition that challenges many of the Kemalist precepts and is driven in its reform efforts by a desire to achieve EU accession.

Turkey entered [[World War II]] on the Allied side until shortly before the war ended, becoming a charter member of the [[United Nations]]. Difficulties faced by [[Greece]] after World War II in quelling a communist rebellion and demands by the [[Soviet Union]] for military bases in the Turkish Straits prompted the United States to declare the [[Truman Doctrine]] in 1947. The doctrine enunciated American intentions to guarantee the security of Turkey and Greece and resulted in large scale U.S. military and economic aid under the [[Marshall Plan]]. After participating with United Nations forces in the [[Korean War|Korean conflict]], Turkey in 1952 joined the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] (NATO). Turkey is currently a [[European Union]] candidate, although this has been clouded by their refusal to acknowledge the [[Armenian genocide]].

==Disputed territories==
===Kurdistan===
:{{Main article|Kurdistan}}

===Liwa Iskanderoun(Hatay)===
In 1939, Turkey annexed the Syrian province of Hatay. However, Syrian maps continue to include Hatay as part of Syrian territory.<ref>https://carnegie-mec.org/diwan/54340?lang=en</ref>

==Support for Nazism==
Turkey has been supplying large numbers of attack drones to [[Ukrainian]] [[neo-Nazi]]s. <ref>https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/04/27/drones-russia-ukraine-war-donbas/</ref>

==People==
[[File:Istiklal Caddesi 06 24 09 0068.jpg|thumb|right|A busy day on İstiklal Avenue, Istanbul.]]
Modern Turkey encompasses bustling [[cosmopolitan]] centers, pastoral farming villages, barren wastelands, peaceful Aegean coastlines, and steep mountain regions. More than half of Turkey's population lives in urban areas that juxtapose Western lifestyles with more traditional ways of life.

Turkey is officially a [[secular state|secular]] country with no official religion since the constitutional amendment in 1928 and later strengthened by Atatürk's Reforms and the appliance of laicism by the country's founder and first president [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]] on February 5, 1937. Due to oppression of [[Christianity]], Turkey's population is nearly entirely (at least cultural) [[Muslim]]. Most Turkish Muslims follow the [[Sunni]] traditions of Islam, although a significant number follow Alevi and [[Shiite]] traditions. Questions regarding role of religion in society and government, the role of linguistic and ethnic identity, and the public's expectation to live in security dominate public discourse. Turkish citizens who assert a [[Kurds|Kurdish]] identity constitute an ethnic and linguistic group that is estimated at up to 12 million in number.
[[File:Iskenderun church.jpg|thumb|right|St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in İskenderun, Hatay.]]
*Population (2018): 82 million.
*Annual population growth rate (2017 est.): 1.24%.
*Ethnic groups: Turkish, Kurdish, other.
*Religions: Muslim (majority), Christian, [[Baha'i Faith|Baha'i]], and Jewish.
*Languages: Turkish (official and majority), Kurdish, Zaza, Arabic, Armenian, Greek.
*Education: Years compulsory—8. Attendance—97.6%. Literacy—86.5%. ''(it's not current data)''
*Health: Infant mortality rate—39.4/1,000. Life expectancy—68.5 yrs. ''(it's not current data)''
*Work force (23 million): Agriculture—35.6%; industry—17.5%; services—47.2%. ''(it's not current data)''

==Government and political conditions==
The 1982 Constitution, drafted by the military in the wake of a 1980 military coup, proclaims Turkey's system of government as [[democracy|democratic]], [[secular state|secular]], and [[Parliamentary Republic|parliamentary]]. A [[Presidential Government|presidential system]] was adopted with a referendum in 2017; the new system came into effect with the presidential election in 2018 and gives the President complete control of the executive, including the power to issue decrees, appoint his own cabinet, draw up the budget, dissolve parliament by calling early elections, and pack the bureaucracy and the courts with political appointees. The office of Prime Minister has been abolished and its powers (together with those of the Cabinet) have been transferred to the President, who is the head of state and is elected for a five-year term by direct elections. [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] is the first president elected by direct voting. Turkey's constitution governs the legal framework of the country. It sets out the main principles of government and establishes Turkey as a unitary centralized state.

Executive power is exercized by the President, while the legislative power is vested in the unicameral parliament, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The judiciary is nominally independent from the executive and the legislature, but the constitutional changes that came into effect with the referendums in 2007, 2010 and 2017 gave larger powers to the President and the ruling party for appointing or dismissing judges and prosecutors. The Constitutional Court is charged with ruling on the conformity of laws and decrees with the constitution. The Council of State is the tribunal of last resort for administrative cases, and the High Court of Appeals for all others.
[[File:Turkish Parliament in Ankara.jpg|thumb|300px|The Parliament in Ankara.]]

Universal suffrage for both sexes has been applied throughout Turkey since 1933 and before most countries, and every Turkish citizen who has turned 18 years of age has the right to vote. There are 600 members of parliament who are elected for a five-year term by a party-list proportional representation system from 85 electoral districts. The Constitutional Court can strip the public financing of political parties that it deems anti-secular or separatist, or ban their existence altogether. The electoral threshold is 10 percent of the votes.

Supporters of [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Atatürk]]'s reforms are called Kemalists, as distinguished from [[Islamism|Islamists]], representing the two diverging views regarding the role of religion in legislation, education and public life. The Kemalist view supports a form of democracy with a laicist [[constitution]] and Westernized secular lifestyle, while maintaining the necessity of state intervention in the economy, education and other public services. Since its foundation as a republic in 1923, Turkey has developed a strong tradition of secularism. However, since the 1980s, issues such as income inequality and class distinction have given rise to Islamic [[populism]], a movement that supports a larger role for religion in government policies, and in theory supports obligation to authority, communal solidarity and social justice; though what that entails in practice is often contested. Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the [[Justice and Development Party]] has been described as becoming increasingly authoritarian. Prior to the constitutional referendum in 2017 the Council of Europe saw Turkey drifting towards an autocracy, warning of a "dramatic regression of its democratic order". Many elements in the constitutional reform package that was approved with the referendum in 2017 have increased concerns in the European Union regarding democracy and the separation of powers in Turkey.

As of 2017 the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index rates Turkey at 4.88 (on a 0–10 scale), classifying Turkey as a Hybrid Regime. In 2018, Freedom House rated Turkey at 32 (on a 0–100 scale) as Not Free.

Human-right abuses, especially against [[Christians]] remains a problem<ref>http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78844.htm</ref> and the frequency of violent attacks on Christian ministers and priests is still high.<ref>http://washingtontimes.com/upi/20070418-030533-9552</ref><ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5139408.stm</ref>

The [[Kurdish Worker Party]] (PKK), an [[far-left|extreme]] [[leftist]] ethnic nationalist and [[separatism|separatist]] –originally [[Marxism-Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]]– [[terrorism|terrorist]] organization, founded in 1978, seeks the foundation of an independent [[socialism|socialist]] [[Kurds|Kurdish]] state.<ref name="Jongerden">{{Cite journal|last=Jongerden|first=Joost|date=2017-10-01|title=Gender equality and radical democracy: Contractions and conflicts in relation to the "new paradigm" within the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)|url=https://journals.openedition.org/anatoli/618|journal=Anatoli. De l'Adriatique à la Caspienne. Territoires, Politique, Sociétés|language=en|issue=8|pages=233–256|doi=10.4000/anatoli.618|issn=2111-4064}}</ref> It is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey,<ref name="RadioFrance">{{cite news|url=http://www.english.rfi.fr/asia-pacific/20140116-turkey-spy-agency-denies-role-paris-kurds-murder-launches-probe|title=Turkey spy agency denies role in Paris Kurds murder, launches probe|date=16 January 2014|publisher=Radio France Internationale|access-date=5 February 2014}}</ref> the [[United States]],<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|title=Foreign Terrorist Organizations|url=https://www.state.gov/foreign-terrorist-organizations/|access-date=2021-03-10|website=United States Department of State|language=en-US}}</ref> the [[European Union]],<ref name=":10">{{Cite web|title=Turkey 2019 Report|url=https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/sites/near/files/20190529-turkey-report.pdf|access-date=16 December 2019|website=ec.europa.eu|page=5}}</ref> and some other countries.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web|last=department|first=Attorney-General's|title=Listed terrorist organisations|url=https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205054738/http://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx|archive-date=5 February 2016|access-date=18 December 2019|website=www.nationalsecurity.gov.au|language=en-au}}</ref><ref name="Japan_ban">{{cite web|title=MOFA: Implementation of the Measures including the Freezing of Assets against Terrorists and the Like|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406134416/http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html|archive-date=6 April 2013|access-date=21 November 2013}}</ref> The PKK was formed as part of the Kurdish nationalist schism within the Turkish [[communism|communist]] movement<ref name="Jongerden"/> and the growing discontent over the suppression of Turkey's Kurds, in an effort to establish linguistic, cultural, and political rights for the Kurdish minority.<ref name="Palgrave Macmillan">{{cite book|last1=Joseph|first1=J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G06BDAAAQBAJ|title=Turkey and the European Union internal dynamics and external challenges|date=2006|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|isbn=0230598587|location=Basingstoke [England]|page=100}}</ref> Following the military coup of 1980, the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in public and private life to prevent separatism.<ref name="NYTK">Toumani, Meline. [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/magazine/17turkey-t.html?ex=1361854800&en=df64cf85326e2103&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink Minority Rules], ''[[New York Times]]'', 17 February 2008</ref> Many who spoke, published, or sang in Kurdish were arrested and imprisoned.<ref name="Cambridge University Press">{{cite book|last1=Aslan|first1=Senem|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wTAWBQAAQBAJ|title=Nation Building in Turkey and Morocco|date=2014|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1107054608|page=134}}</ref> The PKK's response to these policies has been the bombing of downtowns, the massacre of civilians, and the destruction of schools and hospitals in the Kurdish-majority cities of Turkey.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10576100701558620|doi = 10.1080/10576100701558620|title = The Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) as Criminal Syndicate: Funding Terrorism through Organized Crime, A Case Study|year = 2007|last1 = Roth|first1 = Mitchel P.|last2 = Sever|first2 = Murat|journal = Studies in Conflict & Terrorism|volume = 30|issue = 10|pages = 901–920|s2cid = 110700560}}</ref><ref name="amnestysecurity"/><ref name="childsoldiers"/> It has faced condemnation by some countries and human rights organizations for the killing of teachers and civil servants,<ref name="amnestysecurity">{{Cite web | url = https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a9ea0.html | title = No Security Without Human Rights | publisher = [[Amnesty International]] | access-date = 1 February 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Öğretmen Necmettin Yılmaz'ın Öldürülmesini Kınıyoruz!|url=https://www.ihd.org.tr/ogretmen-necmettin-yilmazin-oldurulmesini-kiniyoruz/|access-date=2021-03-12|website=[[İnsan Hakları Derneği]]|language=tr}}</ref> using [[Suicide attack|suicide bombers]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Foreign diplomats, countries condemn Cizre attack - World News|url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/foreign-diplomats-countries-condemn-cizre-attack-103271|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Hürriyet Daily News|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=PKK claims deadly suicide bombing at Turkish police station|url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-claims-responsibility-suicide-bombing-left-11-dead-turkey-1381604350|access-date=27 December 2018|website=Middle East Eye|archive-date=14 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214114351/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-claims-responsibility-suicide-bombing-left-11-dead-turkey-1381604350|url-status=dead}}</ref> and recruiting child soldiers.<ref name="childsoldiers">{{Cite web | url = https://www.refworld.org/docid/498805c428.html | title = Child Soldiers Global Report 2001 - Turkey | publisher = [[Child Soldiers International]] | access-date = 1 February 2021 }}</ref><ref name="HRWCS">{{Cite web|date=2016-12-22|title=Iraq: Armed Groups Using Child Soldiers|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/12/22/iraq-armed-groups-using-child-soldiers-0|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Human Rights Watch|language=en}}</ref> It was armed by the [[Obama administration]].<ref>https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/antifa-ypg-pkk-ties-threaten-national-peace-in-west/1899520</ref> The PKK trained [[Antifa]] fighters in Northern [[Syria]].<ref>https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/war-on-terror/ypgpkk-recruited-foreign-fighters-from-antifa-groups-in-western-countries-report-says</ref>

[[File:Ankara panorama Turkey.jpg|thumb|center|700px|The capital Ankara.]]

{{Clear}}
===Principal government officials===
*President of the Republic — Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
*Vice President of the Republic — Fuat Oktay

===Foreign relations===
[[File:Turkish girls laughing in calimanesti.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Turkish dancers in a festival in [[Romania]].]]
Turkey's primary political, economic, and security ties are with the West, although some voices call for a more "Eurasian" orientation.

Turkey entered NATO in 1952 and serves as the organization's vital eastern anchor, controlling the straits leading from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and sharing a border with Syria, Iraq, and Iran. A NATO headquarters is located in Izmir. Besides its relationships with NATO and the EU, Turkey is a member of the OECD, the Council of Europe, and OSCE. Turkey also is a member of the UN and the Islamic Conference Organization (OIC). In December 1999, Turkey became a candidate for EU membership. On December 17, 2004, the EU decided to begin formal accession negotiations with Turkey in October 2005.

Turkey and the EU formed a customs union beginning January 1, 1996. The agreement covers industrial and processed agricultural goods. Turkey is harmonizing its laws and regulations with EU standards. Turkey adopted the EU's Common External Tariff regime, effectively lowering Turkey's tariffs for third countries, including the United States.

On October 3, 2005, Turkey and the EU reached agreement for Turkey to begin negotiations on accession to the European Union. Turkey and EU officials have begun the process of screening Turkey's laws and policies in order to begin negotiating the individual chapters required for ultimate EU accession. However, this admission request has not been without criticism,<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2420697.stm</ref> including:
*Serious human rights violations<ref>http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20070419-0809-italy-turkey-eu.html</ref>
*Refusal to admit genocide of [[Armenia]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6043730.stm</ref>
*Refusal to recognize [[Cyprus]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6153186.stm</ref>
*Only 3% of Turkey is in [[Europe]]
*Threat of increasing [[Islamic]] fundamentalism<ref>http://www.freemuslims.org/news/article.php?article=1761</ref>

Turkey opened and provisionally closed in 2006 one EU negotiating chapter on science and technology. Another chapter on statistics was opened in February 2007, and two more are expected to be opened by July 1, 2007. Eight chapters, mostly related to trade, were suspended by the European Council in December 2006 after Turkey declined to open its ports and airports to Cypriot vessels—a commitment Turkey made as part of the Ankara Protocol and its EU Customs Union membership.

Turkey is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It has signed free trade agreements with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Israel, and many other countries. In 1992 Turkey and 10 other regional nations formed the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Council to expand regional trade and economic cooperation. Turkey chaired BSEC in 2007 and hosted in Istanbul the 15th BSEC Summit in June 2007.

====Relations with the United States====
U.S.-Turkish friendship dates to the late 18th century and was officially sealed by a treaty in 1830. The present close relationship began with the agreement of July 12, 1947, which implemented the Truman Doctrine. As part of the cooperative effort to further Turkish economic and military self-reliance, the United States has loaned and granted Turkey more than $12.5 billion in economic aid and more than $14 billion in military assistance.

U.S.-Turkish relations focus on areas such as strategic energy cooperation, trade and investment, security ties, regional stability, the global war on terrorism, and human rights progress. Relations were strained when Turkey refused in March 2003 to allow U.S. troops to deploy through its territory to Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom, but regained momentum steadily thereafter and mutual interests remain strong across a wide spectrum of issues. On July 5, 2006, Secretary Rice and then-Foreign Minister Gül signed a Shared Vision Statement to highlight the common values and goals between our two countries and to lay out a framework for increased strategic dialogue.

The U.S. and Turkey have had a Joint Economic Commission and a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, which last met in Washington in April 2007, for several years. In 2002, the two countries indicated their joint intent to upgrade bilateral economic relations by launching an Economic Partnership Commission, which last convened in Ankara in February 2007. In 2006, Turkish exports to the U.S. totaled about $5.4 billion, and U.S. exports to Turkey totaled $5.7 billion.

[[Condoleezza Rice]] ones described Turkey as “a vital and strategic partner of the United States”. But since the tenure of [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] these times are over.<ref>https://www.nationalreview.com/article/348422/erdo%C4%9Fan%E2%80%99s-agenda</ref> Erdoğan - a dictator<ref>[https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/11/turkey-erdogan-coup-hdp-pkk-syria-gulen-ypg Turkey's Fascist Slide] Güney Işıkara, Alp Kayserilioğlu, Max Zirngast, Jacobin, Nov 10, 2016.
Turkish president Erdoğan is wielding the state to attack anyone who won't capitulate to his authoritarian rule.</ref><ref>[https://m.imdb.com/title/tt7054718/ Erdogan: The Dictator's Republic], Imbd,
2017</ref><ref>[https://stockholmcf.org/turkish-journalist-goes-on-trial-for-insulting-erdogan-in-fascist-dictatorship-column/ Turkish journalist goes on trial for insulting Erdoğan in ‘fascist dictatorship’ column] SCF, June 28, 2018</ref><ref>[https://euobserver.com/political/147624 What does Erdoğan want?] Robert Debeuf, EU Observer, Mar 4, 2020.

"Shameful...unacceptable....blackmail...dictator." European leaders didn't spare their words to condemn Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan after his decision on Friday (28 February) to open its border with Greece and let refugees enter into Europe.

On Monday, Erdoğan stepped up his game warning that "millions" of refugees would come to Europe.

He also said he refused €1m in extra cash, saying "we don't want this money".

Despite this statement, former Nato secretary-general Willy Claes said on Belgian television that Erdogan is "a dictator" and that "all he wants is money".</ref><ref>[https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/11/16/biden-action-against-erdogan/amp/ Will Biden Turn His Words Against Dictator Erdoğan Into Action?]Adulrahman Taleb, Greek City Times, Nov 16, 2020.
Furthermore, Biden openly attacked dictator Erdoğan and called him an “autocrat” and promised that he will work with the opposition parties.</ref><ref>[https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/12/31/what-the-biden-presidency-means-for-turkey-and-erdogan-post-trump.html Erdogan should be very, very worried': What the Biden presidency means for Turkey] Natasha Turak, CNBC, Dec 31, 2020.
In an interview last January, Biden called Erdogan an “autocrat,” criticized his actions toward the Kurds..</ref><ref>[https://amp.france24.com/en/20190313-netanyahu-hits-back-turkeys-dictator-erdogan Netanyahu hits back at 'Turkey's dictator Erdogan'], ''France 24'', Mar 13, 2019.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday slammed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a "dictator" and "a joke"...</ref> ethnic-cleanser, oppressor, Islamist<ref>[https://www.theglobalist.com/turkey-recep-tayyip-erdogan-eu-nato-kurds-islamism/ J’Accuse Erdogan] Alon Ben-Meir, Globalist, July 9, 2020.

The weaker Recep Tayyip Erdogan is at home politically, the longer the list of the Turkish President’s transgressions gets.
<blockquote>
A preliminary list of Erdogan’s transgressions

For evidence, it is useful to assemble the list of transgressions that seem to be the only category Erdogan still seems to “excel” in.
Most fundamentally, Erdogan is violating every article of human rights in his own country, while being keen on destabilizing other countries by exploiting their weaknesses and resources in order to promote his nationalist agenda.

I count altogether 13 specific major transgressions:

1.Erdogan continues to commit gross human rights violations in Turkey by using the failed 2016 military coup as an excuse to silence the media.
Based on a judiciary that, for the most part, barely deserves that name, Erdogan has jailed over 150 journalists, incarcerated around 80,000 suspected of affiliation with the Gülen movement and purged 150,000 military officers and civil servants.

2.Erdogan engages in a systematic operation of ethnic cleansing against minorities in Turkey and northern Syria.

He invaded Syria to both prevent the Syrian Kurdish community from establishing autonomous rule, and to entrench for Turkey a permanent foothold in the country, which is bound to only prolong the conflict and further destabilize the region.

3.Erdogan systematically persecutes his own Kurdish community and continues a 50-year-old war against the PKK, which he views as a terrorist organization.

He also steadfastly refuses to resume negotiations with the Kurds — which account for as much as 20% of Turkey’s population — and end the carnage that has taken the lives of approximately 40,000 on both sides.

4.Erdogan purchased Russia’s S-400 air defense system which, once operational, NATO fears would seriously compromise the alliance’s intelligence sharing and technology — apart from being fully incompatible with NATO systems.

5.Erdogan invested heavily in promoting his Islamic agenda by supporting anti-Western Islamist extremist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and even ISIS.

6.Erdogan uses Islam as a political tool by building mosques and other Islamic theological institutions. He also sends his imams to teach and preach his brand of religious nationalism in many countries in the Middle East and the Balkans.

7.Erdogan violated U.S. sanctions against Iran by laundering up to $20 billion in an oil-for-gold scheme from 2012-2018, and he continues to cooperate and trade with Tehran in defiance of Western interests.

8.Erdogan made a deal with Putin in late 2019 to patrol northern Syria while working closely with Moscow and Tehran to delineate their spheres of influence in the country. He is thus leaving Syria de facto a divided state under their control, while significantly diminishing what’s left of Western influence.

9.Erdogan sent troops to support Libya’s Government of National Accord in an effort to establish a strong foothold in the country, exploiting its oil and gas and threatening the free flow of energy from the Eastern Mediterranean.

10.Erdogan violated a UN arms embargo while resisting NATO’s peace plans in Libya, including exercising extreme aggression against NATO ally France’s warship enforcing the embargo.

11.Erdogan blocked a NATO defense plan for the Baltics and Poland and regularly intimidates Greece, a NATO member state, violating the country’s airspace with Turkish military jets.

12.Erdogan is adamant about drilling for gas in the territorial waters of Cyprus and has begun plans to expand drilling off the coast of the Greek island of Crete.

In that pursuit, he remains at odds with Greece, Cyprus, Egypt and Israel over ownership of natural resources, threatening to use force to secure “his share” which could burgeon into a violent conflict.

13.Last but not least, Erdogan perpetuated the heated conflict with Cyprus over his demand that his puppet — the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus — enjoy equal political power to the Republic of Cyprus, which is four times larger in population and territory and is an EU member state.</blockquote></ref><ref>[https://www.politico.eu/article/mario-draghi-dictator-recep-tayyip-erdogan-sofagate/ Italy’s Draghi slams Erdoğan as a ‘dictator’ after Sofagate] Giorgio Leali, Politico, April 8, 2021.

Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi slammed Turkish Presiden Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.</ref> fascist.<ref>[https://turkeypurge.com/exiled-novelist-asli-erdogan-turkey-has-a-fascist-regime-it-is-not-yet-1940s-germany-but-1930s Exiled novelist Aslı Erdoğan: Turkey has a fascist regime. It is not yet 1940s Germany, but 1930s] TurkeyPurge, Aug 6, 2018</ref><ref>[https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article/turkey-turning-into-fascist-dictatorship-meps-told Turkey turning into "fascist dictatorship", MEPs told] Martin Banks, The Parliament Magazine,, Nov 8, 2016

A leading Turkish opposition parliamentarian says that Turkey has been turned into a "fascist dictatorship" under its President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.</ref><ref>[https://amp2.handelsblatt.com/recep-tayyip-erdogan-birth-of-a-dictator/23540062.html Recep Tayyip Erdogan: Birth of a Dictator] von John Blau, Handelsblatt, Dec 8, 2016.</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/19/jailed-turkish-editor-can-dundar-slams-eu-deal-with-erdogans-fascist-governmentJailed Turkish Editor slams EU deal with Erdogan's fascist government], Kareem Shaheen, Guardian, January 19, 2016</ref><ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/theworldpost/wp/2018/06/25/erdogan/ Opinion: Turkey takes a big step toward nationalist fascism] Omer Taspinar, Washington Post, June 25, 2018</ref> For example, he equated [[Zionism]] with [[Fascism]], [[John Kerry]] criticized him for this statement.<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/01/official-kerry-to-rap-turkey-pm-for-remark/</ref> Yet, after Erdogan previously using extreme silly diatribe against Israel, he changed his attitude towards Israel. In Mar 2022,<ref>AFP News Agency@AFP·2h#UPDATE Israel and Turkey proclaimed a new era in relations on Wednesday following more than a decade of diplomatic rupture, as Israeli President Isaac Herzog made a landmark visit to Ankara. ([http://twitter.com/AFP/status/1501659337646911499 Mar 9, 2022]).</ref> [[Israel]] and Turkey proclaimed a new era in relations on Wednesday following more than a decade of diplomatic rupture, as Israeli President Isaac Herzog made a landmark visit to Ankara.

==Economy==
[[Image:Framed medallion Turkey.jpg|300px|thumb|Framed medallion.]]
Turkey is a large, middle-income country with relatively few natural resources. Its economy is currently in transition from a high degree of reliance on agriculture and heavy industrial economy to a more diversified economy with an increasingly large and globalized services sector. Coming out of a tradition of a state-directed economy that was relatively closed to the outside world, Prime Minister and then President Turgut Özal began to open up the economy in the 1980s, leading to the signing of a Customs Union with the European Union in 1995. In the 1990s, Turkey's economy suffered from a series of coalition governments with weak economic policies, leading to high-inflation boom-and-bust cycles that culminated in a severe banking and economic crisis in 2001 and a deep economic downturn (GNP fell 9.5% in 2001) and increase in unemployment.

Turkey's economy has recovered strongly from the 2001 thanks to good monetary and fiscal policies and structural economic reforms made with the support of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The independence of the Central Bank has been firmly established, a floating exchange rate system has been put in place, and the government's overall budget deficit has been substantially reduced. In addition, there have been substantial reforms in the financial, energy, and telecommunications sectors that have included the privatization of several large state-owned institutions.

Turkey's economy grew an average of 7.5% per year from 2002 through 2006—one of the highest sustained rates of growth in the world. It is expected to grow about 6.1% in 2007. Inflation and interest rates have fallen significantly, the currency has stabilized, government debt has declined to more supportable levels, and business and consumer confidence have returned. At the same time, booming economic growth has contributed to a growing current account deficit. Though Turkey's vulnerabilities have been greatly reduced, the economy could still face problems in the event there is a sudden change in investor sentiment that leads to a sharp fall in the exchange rate. Continued implementation of reforms, including tight fiscal policy, is essential to sustain growth and stability.

After years of low levels of foreign direct investment (FDI), in 2006, Turkey succeeded in attracting $18.9 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) and is expected to attract a similar level in 2007. A series of large privatizations, the stability fostered by the start of Turkey's EU accession negotiations, strong and stable growth, and structural changes in the banking, retail, and telecommunications sectors have all contributed to the rise in foreign investment. Turkey has taken steps to improve its investment climate through administrative streamlining, an end to foreign investment screening, and strengthened intellectual property legislation. However, a number of disputes involving foreign investors in Turkey and certain policies, such as high taxation and continuing gaps in the intellectual property regime, inhibit investment. Turkey has a number of bilateral investment and tax treaties, including with the United States, which guarantee free repatriation of capital in convertible currencies and eliminate double taxation.
*GDP: $750 billion (2020)
*GDP per capita: $8,824 (2020)
*Annual real GDP growth rate: (2004) (+) 8.9%; (2005) 7.4%; (2006) 6.0%.
*Annual inflation rate /CPI: (2003) 18.4%; (2004) 9.3%; (2005) 7.7%; (2006) 9.7%.
*Natural resources: Coal, chromium, mercury, copper, boron, oil, gold.
*Agriculture (10.8% of GNP): Major cash crops—cotton, sugar beets, hazelnuts, wheat, barley, and tobacco. Provides 26% of jobs and 4% of exports.
*Industry (25.4% of GNP): Major growth sector, types—automotive, electronics, food processing, textiles, basic metals, chemicals, and petrochemicals. Provides 20% of jobs.
*Trade: Exports (merchandise)--(2005) $73.1 billion; (2006) $83.5 billion: textiles and apparel, industrial machinery, iron and steel, electronics, petroleum products, and motor vehicles. Imports (merchandise)--(2005) $116 billion; (2006) 135.5 billion: petroleum, machinery, motor vehicles, electronics, iron and steel, plastics precious metals. Major partners—Germany, U.S., Italy, France, Russia, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, U.K.

====European Union accession====
Turkey's principal ongoing economic challenge is providing for the needs of a fast-growing, young population. Raising living standards to those prevalent in Europe will require high rates of GDP growth sustained over many years. This will entail continued structural reforms that encourage both domestic and foreign investment. Principal areas for reform identified by international financial intuitions include increasing flexibility in the labor market, making the educational sector more responsive to the needs of the economy and ensuring faster and more predictable operation of the judicial system. As an aspirant to membership in the European Union, Turkey aims to adopt the EU's basic system of national law and regulation (the acquis communautaire) by 2014. While implementing some elements of the acquis will be costly and difficult (for example in the areas of environmental protection and agriculture), its adoption will make a significant contribution to modernizing the economy.

====Energy====
[[File:Electric Energy Grid Turkey.jpg|thumb|360px|Electric Energy Grid.]]
Installed electricity generation capacity in Turkey reached 35,600 megawatts (MW) as of 2004. Fossil fuels account for 71% of the total installed capacity and hydro, geothermal, and wind account for the remaining 28%. The growth in electricity generation has remained below electricity demand until recently, which has made Turkey a net importer of electricity since 1997. The growth of energy demand slowed somewhat as a result of the 2001 economic crisis, but has picked up again. Turkish authorities expect a significant electricity shortfall unless new facilities become operational. The Government of Turkey took some important steps in 2001 to liberalize its energy sector, including passage of the Electricity Market Law and establishment of the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA). However, the government has moved slowly to follow through on plans to liberalize and privatize the electricity and natural gas sectors. In 2004, the High Planning Council approved the Electricity Sector Reform Strategy to renew the reform process.

Oil provides about 43% of Turkey's total energy requirements; around 90% is imported. Domestic production is mostly from small fields in the southeast. New exploration is taking place in the eastern Black Sea. In 2004, the Parliament approved a petroleum market reform bill that liberalized consumer prices and would lead to the privatization of the state refining company TUPRAS. TUPRAS was privatized in 2005, but this has been held up by court cases still in process. Turkey has a refining capacity of 802,275 barrels per day (b/d).

Turkey acts as an important link in the East-West Southern Energy Corridor bringing Caspian, Central Asian, and Middle Eastern energy to Europe and world markets. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which came online in July 2006, delivers 1 million b/d of petroleum, and in 2007, the South Caucasus Pipeline (from Shah Deniz) is expected to bring natural gas from Azerbaijan to Turkey. Turkey is building an interconnector pipeline to Greece, an important step in bringing Caspian natural gas to Europe via Turkey.

====Telecommunications====
[[File:Turk map.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Map of Turkey.]]
Parliament enacted legislation separating telecommunications policy and regulatory functions in January 2000, by establishing an independent regulatory body, the Telecommunication Authority. The Authority is responsible for issuing licenses, supervising operators, and taking necessary technical measures against violations of the rules. Most regulatory functions of the Transport Ministry were transferred to the Authority, and the regulator is slowly gaining competence and independence. The long-expected privatization of the state-owned telecommunications company was accomplished by the sale of 55% of Turk Telekom to the Saudi-owned Oger Group in November 2005. With liberalization and growth in the economy, there is growing competition for Internet provision, but Turk Telekom remains the sole provider of ADSL wide band Internet.

====Environment====
[[File:TurkishForest.jpg|thumb|left|280px|Turkish forest.]]
With the establishment of the Environment Ministry in 1991, Turkey began to make significant progress addressing its most pressing environmental problems. The most dramatic improvements were significant reductions of air pollution in Istanbul and Ankara. However, progress has been slow on the remaining—and serious—environmental challenges facing Turkey.

In 2003, the Ministry of Environment was merged with the Forestry Ministry. With its goal to join the EU, Turkey has made commendable progress in updating and modernizing its environmental legislation. However, environmental concerns are not fully integrated into public decision-making and enforcement can be weak. Turkey faces a backlog of environmental problems, requiring enormous outlays for infrastructure. The most pressing needs are for water treatment plants, wastewater treatment facilities, solid waste management, and conservation of biodiversity. The discovery of a number of chemical waste sites in 2006 has highlighted weakness in environmental law and oversight.
{{Clear}}

====Transportation====
The Turkish Government gives a special priority to major infrastructure projects, especially in the transport sector. The government is in the process of building new airports and highways, thanks to an increased public investment budget. The government will realize many of these projects by utilizing the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.

== See also ==
[[File:Blue mosque Istanbul Turkey.jpg|thumb|The Blue Mosque, Istanbul.]]
*[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]]
*[[Battle of Adrianople]]
*[[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]]
*[[Oriental art]]
*[[Göbekli Tepe]]
*[[Catal Huyuk|Çatalhöyük]]
{{Clear}}

== External links ==
*[http://bertschlossberg.blogspot.com/ A Turkish Delight: they think so in Israel also!]

==References==
{{reflist}}

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|style=" background-color: none;"| This work is in the [[Public Domain]] in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the U.S. Code
|-
!style=" background-color: #000088; color:white;"|Source:
|style="background-color: none;border-top: 2px solid black"| File available from the {{{1|[[United States Federal Government]] [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3432.htm]}}}.
|}

{{Asian Countries}}

[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:NATO Members]]
[[Category:Turkey]]
[[Category:Muslim-Majority Countries]]

Kurdistan

2022-02-14T17:03:26Z

Andrewlee:

'''Kurdistan''' is the [[Kurds|Kurdish]]-majority territories in western [[Asia]] spanning most of southeastern [[Turkey]]. Parts of modern day Iraq, Syria and Iran are also included in Kurdistan. It is not a recognized entity in any of the nations it inhabits, but the Kurdish people do have an autonomous zone in northern Iraq that was set up after the first Iraq war, where they govern themselves with de facto independence. Territory controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces in the [[Syrian war]] has also been described as "Kurdistan", though they do not consider themselves such.

Kurdish [[Separatism|separatists]] have been engaging in an ongoing struggle for a free and independent Kurdistan for nearly 100 years and have ranged success against some of the strongest militaries in the Middle East including Iran and Iraq. Military success against Iraq was met with the reprisal of chemical attacks that killed thousands of Kurds during Saddam's reign.

In Turkey, the [[leftist]] terrorist organization [[Kurdish Worker Party]] (PKK) has caused the deaths of civilians and soldiers, including Kurds, and the continuation of underdevelopment of Kurdish-majority territories.

The movement for a free and independent Kurdistan has sometimes been helped and hindered by the outside world, namely the US. Kurdish nationalists fight against the Iraqi, Iranian, Syrian, and Turkish militaries for control over Kurdish-majority territories and outside support has waxed and waned depending on US relations with the nations Kurdistan is a part of.

[[Category:Asia]]

Ankara

2022-02-14T16:28:30Z

Andrewlee:

{{City
|name =Ankara
|picture =
|picture2 =
|map =
|country =Turkey
|state =
|region =
|settled =
|charter =
|population =4,587,558
|area =9,468 sq mi
|density =
|mayor =Mansur Yavaş
|demonym =
}}
'''Ankara''' is the second largest city and capital of [[Turkey]]. The city is located towards the center of the Anatolia Peninsula. The city is on the edge of the Anatolian Plateau, nearly 2,800 feet above sea level.<ref>http://www.allaboutturkey.com/ankara.htm</ref> The city has been major in both ancient times and modern times, presently having a population over 4 million people.<ref>http://www.kultur.gov.tr/EN/Genel/BelgeGoster.aspx?17A16AE30572D3137EE1F1486EE5030EDA0F7D5833632EE9</ref>

[[File:Ankara panorama Turkey.jpg|thumb|center|720px|The capital of Turkey.]]

==History==
Formerly known as Angora, Ankara was called as Ankuwash by the Hittites before 1200 BC, and Ancyra by the Galatians and Romans. In the classical, Hellenistic, and Byzantine periods it was called as Ἄγκυρα Ánkyra. And later in 1930, it was officially renamed as Ankara by Turkish Republic.<ref>http://www.iwasinturkey.com/wiki-guide/Ankara</ref> Ankara served as Mustapha Kemal's headquarters during the fight by Turkey to recover lands lost after the [[First World War]], and when the Turkish Republic was established in 1923 Ankara was made its capital city.

==See also==
*[[Istanbul]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Turkey]]
[[Category:Capital Cities]]

Istanbul

2022-02-14T16:28:07Z

Andrewlee: /* Ottoman Era */

[[File:Saint Sophia Turkey.jpg|thumb|Hagia Sophia.]]

'''Istanbul''' historically known as '''Constantinople''' and '''Byzantium''' is the largest city in [[Turkey]] and amongst the largest of cities in the world, with a population nearing 13 million. For the most part, Istanbul is located in the European part of Turkey, Thrace, but extends into parts of Asia-Minor. While [[Ankara]] is the formal capital of Turkey, Istanbul is largely considered the cultural and financial capital of the nation. Since the Fourth century, Istanbul has been a major city, known by names such as Byzantium and Constantinople.

==Byzantine Era==
As Constantinople the city served as the capital of four major empires: The [[Roman Empire]] (330-395), the [[Byzantine Empire]] as the surviving offshoot of the old Roman Empire (395-1204 and 1261-1453), the Latin Empire (1204-1261), and the [[Ottoman Empire]] (1453-1922). Formerly the city of Byzantium, [[Constantine]] renamed it as Constantinople in A.D. 330. It was designed to be the [[Rome]] of the East (''Nova Roma'', or "New Rome"). It was conquered by the [[Ottoman]] [[Sultan]] [[Mahmud II]] in 1453 after being defended by [[Constantine XI]], the last of the Byzantine Emperors, and his small army. It served as the capital of the [[Ottoman Empire]] until the Empire was broken apart by the [[World War I|First World War]].
[[History as a Christian Metropolis]]
The city was founded by Constantine in A.D. 330. Although originally he named it Nova Roma, which was Latin for "new Rome," the mostly Greek residents he settled in the city called it Constantinopolis, and in English this is Constantinople. He made it the capital of the Roman Empire, but for fifty years most emperors spent most of their reigns not in Constantine's palace but fighting against either the Persians or the Germans. Emperor Theodosius was the first potentate to spend most of his reign in the city. When he died in 395, the empire split into western and eastern halves. In 527 [[Justinian]] became emperor and issued a collection of all laws ever published by the Roman emperors, from Augustus to Theodosius. When a fire destroyed most of Constantine's buildings, Justinian rebuilt in a magnificent half-Greek, half-Oriental, and half-Roman style. His most famous building was the Hagia Sophia, built in 537 in Asian style. During the early seventh century, the city was threatened by the Persians, but the emperor Heraclius raised a large and well-equipped army which defeated them and retook Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, which the Persians had seized. But then the Arabs, now followers of [[Islam]], seized Syria, Egypt, Palestine, and North Africa. Meanwhile, lands in northern Italy and southern Spain taken by Justinian were lost to Germanic kings.

In 1071, the Seljuk Turks, who had converted to Islam, took all of Asia Minor and threatened to sail across the Bosporus and seize Constantinople. Twenty-four years later, Emperor Alexius IV appealed to Pope Urban II, who by the power of his speech convinced the French, the Germans, and the English to embark on a [[Crusade]] or holy war to protect Byzantium and seize Jerusalem from the Muslims. Both succeeded, but in 1204 French knights headed to Egypt sacked Constantinople, installed a Western emperor, and tried to make Byzantium Catholic and Latin-speaking. Yet in 1261 the exile Michael Palelogoi seized the city and became Emperor Michael VIII. He restored much of the city's wealth and fortifications, but wasted troops on seizing Asia Minor.

==Ottoman Era==
In 1453 It was conquered by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] Sultan [[Mehmed II]]. It served as the capital of the [[Ottoman Empire]] until the Empire was destroyed by the [[World War I|First World War]].

[[Category:Turkey]]
[[Category:European Cities and Towns]]
[[Category:Asian Cities and Towns]]
[[Category:Roman Empire]]
[[Category:Byzantine Empire]]
[[Category:Medieval History]]

Category:Turkey

2022-02-14T09:13:33Z

Andrewlee:

[[Category:Asian Countries]]
[[Category:European Countries]]

Turkiye

2022-02-14T09:12:44Z

Andrewlee: /* Economy */

For the animal with the same name see [[Turkey (bird)]]

{{Country
|name =''Türkiye Cumhuriyeti''
|map =Turkey rel 2006.jpg
|flag =Flag of Turkey.png
|arms =Emblem of Turkey.svg.png
|capital =Ankara
|capital-raw =
|government =Republic
|government-raw =
|language =Turkish
|king =
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =
|pm-raw =
|area =302,535 sq mi
|pop =85,000,000 (2020)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =$794,000,000,000 (2021)
|gdp-year =
|gdp-pc =$9,327 (2021)
|currency =Turkish lira
|idd =
|tld =
}}
The '''Republic of Turkey''' is a transcontinental country occupying the Anatolian Peninsula of [[Western Asia]], as well as a small section of Southeastern [[Europe]] at the Bosporus Strait.

Turkey has a lot of cultural heritage places. It is the land of the Seven Churches of [[Book of Revelation|Revelation]]. 89.5% of its people are [[Muslim]]s<ref>[https://t24.com.tr/haber/optimar-dan-din-inanc-anketi-yuzde-89-allah-in-varligina-ve-birligine-inaniyor,821459 Optimar'dan din-inanç anketi: Yüzde 89 Allah'ın varlığına ve birliğine inanıyor]</ref> and religion doesn't play a pivotal role in their lives. Most of the Turks are said to be cultural or nominal Muslims and continue to practice [[Shamanism|shamanistic]] traditions from pre-Islamic heritage. Although, [[atheism]] and [[deism]] are increasing in Turkey, there is a growing amount of [[Islamism]], largely due to [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan|Erdoğan]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2018/04/turkey-why-so-many-turks-are-losing-faith-in-islam.html|title=Why so many Turks are losing faith in Islam|last=Akyol|first=Mustafa|date=2018-04-16|work=Al-Monitor|access-date=2018-04-21|language=en-us}}</ref><ref>[https://www.dw.com/en/atheism-grows-in-turkey-as-recep-tayyip-erdogan-urges-islam/a-47018029 Atheism grows in Turkey as Recep Tayyip Erdogan urges Islam]</ref><ref>[http://asianews.it/news-en/The-number-of-atheists-increasing-in-Turkey-45956.html The number of atheists increasing in Turkey]</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43981745 The young Turks rejecting Islam]</ref><ref>https://www.thecairoreview.com/essays/turkeys-pan-islamist-foreign-policy/</ref>

Turkey continued the [[Western world|West]]-oriented [[modernization]] initiated by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] dynasty and statesmen. Many things in Turkey contain a mixture of the West and the East, the old and the new, the traditional and the modern. When you visit even the smallest city in Turkey no matter how little its population is, you will find that different cultural elements, traditions, beliefs, languages or dialects live.<ref>[https://www.studyinturkey.gov.tr/StudyinTurkey/ShowDetail?rID=ctfC0sgwTeQ=&&cId=PE4Nr0mMoY4= Culture - Study in Turkey]</ref> Even those who have not done anything related to [[Islam]] in their lives see being Muslim as a part of their identity. Therefore, they may have a negative attitude towards [[Christianity]] or other religions. Because of historical hostilities and bigotry, Turkey is virulently [[Anti-Christian sentiment|anti-Christian]].<ref>https://www.jihadwatch.org/2020/03/turkey-muslims-screaming-allahu-akbar-disrupt-christian-funeral-desecrate-christian-graves</ref> Despite being a [[secular]] and [[Westernization|Westernized]] country, it incites against Christians and the other non-[[Sunni]] religious minorities due to radical nature of Islamic cultural background. It is sometimes debated whether Turkey is a [[secular state]] due to state support for Sunnism. (Sunni clergy are civil servants. Mosques are under state control.) The governing [[Justice and Development Party|AKP]] in Turkey depicts Christians as a "threat to the stability of the nation". Turkish Christian citizens have often been stereotyped as not "real Turks" but as "Western collaborators" by this bigoted and prejudiced point of view.<ref>[https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/israel-zionism/2020/12/how-yasir-arafat-drove-christians-from-bethlehem/ How Yasir Arafat Drove Christians from Bethlehem] D. Weinberg, Mosaic Mag., Dec. 28, 2020.</ref>

==History==
[[Image:St. Sophie Turkey.jpg|right|280px|thumb|Hagia Sophia, Istanbul.]]
[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Mustafa Kemal Pasha]], celebrated by the Turkish State as a Turkish [[World War I]] hero and later known as Atatürk ("Father-Turk"), led the founding of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 after the collapse of the 600-year-old [[Ottoman Empire]] and a three-year war of independence. The empire, which at its peak controlled vast stretches of Northern Africa, Southeastern Europe, and Western Asia, had failed to keep pace with European social and technological developments. The rise of national consciousness impelled several national groups within the Empire to seek independence as nation-states, leading to the empire's fragmentation. This process culminated in the disastrous Ottoman participation in World War I as a German ally. Defeated, shorn of much of its former territory, and partly occupied by forces of the victorious European states, the Ottoman structure was repudiated by Turkish nationalists brought together under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal. The nationalists expelled invading Greek, Armenian, French, British, and Italian forces from Anatolia and Turkish Thrace in a bitter war—and with a diplomatic struggle. After the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey the temporal and religious ruling institutions of the old empire (the sultanate and caliphate) were abolished.

The leaders of the new republic concentrated on consolidating their power and modernizing and Westernizing what had been the empire's core—Asian Anatolia and a part of European Thrace. Social, political, linguistic, and economic reforms and attitudes decreed by Atatürk from 1924-1934 continue to be referred to as the ideological base of modern Turkey. In the post-Atatürk era, and especially after the military coup of 1960, this ideology came to be known as "Kemalism" and his reforms began to be referred to as "revolutions." Kemalism comprises a Turkish form of secularism, strong nationalism, statism, and to a degree a western orientation. The continued validity and applicability of Kemalism are the subject of lively debate in Turkey's political life. The current ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) comes from a tradition that challenges many of the Kemalist precepts and is driven in its reform efforts by a desire to achieve EU accession.

Turkey entered [[World War II]] on the Allied side until shortly before the war ended, becoming a charter member of the [[United Nations]]. Difficulties faced by [[Greece]] after World War II in quelling a communist rebellion and demands by the [[Soviet Union]] for military bases in the Turkish Straits prompted the United States to declare the [[Truman Doctrine]] in 1947. The doctrine enunciated American intentions to guarantee the security of Turkey and Greece and resulted in large scale U.S. military and economic aid under the [[Marshall Plan]]. After participating with United Nations forces in the [[Korean War|Korean conflict]], Turkey in 1952 joined the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] (NATO). Turkey is currently a [[European Union]] candidate, although this has been clouded by their refusal to acknowledge the [[Armenian genocide]].

==Disputed territories==
===Kurdistan===
:{{Main article|Kurdistan}}

==People==
[[File:Istiklal Caddesi 06 24 09 0068.jpg|thumb|right|A busy day on İstiklal Avenue, Istanbul.]]
Modern Turkey encompasses bustling [[cosmopolitan]] centers, pastoral farming villages, barren wastelands, peaceful Aegean coastlines, and steep mountain regions. More than half of Turkey's population lives in urban areas that juxtapose Western lifestyles with more traditional ways of life.

Turkey is officially a [[secular state|secular]] country with no official religion since the constitutional amendment in 1928 and later strengthened by Atatürk's Reforms and the appliance of laicism by the country's founder and first president [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]] on February 5, 1937. Due to oppression of [[Christianity]], Turkey's population is nearly entirely (at least cultural) [[Muslim]]. Most Turkish Muslims follow the [[Sunni]] traditions of Islam, although a significant number follow Alevi and [[Shiite]] traditions. Questions regarding role of religion in society and government, the role of linguistic and ethnic identity, and the public's expectation to live in security dominate public discourse. Turkish citizens who assert a [[Kurds|Kurdish]] identity constitute an ethnic and linguistic group that is estimated at up to 12 million in number.
[[File:Iskenderun church.jpg|thumb|right|St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in İskenderun, Hatay.]]
*Population (2018): 82 million.
*Annual population growth rate (2017 est.): 1.24%.
*Ethnic groups: Turkish, Kurdish, other.
*Religions: Muslim (majority), Christian, [[Baha'i Faith|Baha'i]], and Jewish.
*Languages: Turkish (official and majority), Kurdish, Zaza, Arabic, Armenian, Greek.
*Education: Years compulsory—8. Attendance—97.6%. Literacy—86.5%. ''(it's not current data)''
*Health: Infant mortality rate—39.4/1,000. Life expectancy—68.5 yrs. ''(it's not current data)''
*Work force (23 million): Agriculture—35.6%; industry—17.5%; services—47.2%. ''(it's not current data)''

==Government and political conditions==
The 1982 Constitution, drafted by the military in the wake of a 1980 military coup, proclaims Turkey's system of government as [[democracy|democratic]], [[secular state|secular]], and [[Parliamentary Republic|parliamentary]]. A [[Presidential Government|presidential system]] was adopted with a referendum in 2017; the new system came into effect with the presidential election in 2018 and gives the President complete control of the executive, including the power to issue decrees, appoint his own cabinet, draw up the budget, dissolve parliament by calling early elections, and pack the bureaucracy and the courts with political appointees. The office of Prime Minister has been abolished and its powers (together with those of the Cabinet) have been transferred to the President, who is the head of state and is elected for a five-year term by direct elections. [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] is the first president elected by direct voting. Turkey's constitution governs the legal framework of the country. It sets out the main principles of government and establishes Turkey as a unitary centralized state.

Executive power is exercized by the President, while the legislative power is vested in the unicameral parliament, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The judiciary is nominally independent from the executive and the legislature, but the constitutional changes that came into effect with the referendums in 2007, 2010 and 2017 gave larger powers to the President and the ruling party for appointing or dismissing judges and prosecutors. The Constitutional Court is charged with ruling on the conformity of laws and decrees with the constitution. The Council of State is the tribunal of last resort for administrative cases, and the High Court of Appeals for all others.
[[File:Turkish Parliament in Ankara.jpg|thumb|300px|The Parliament in Ankara.]]

Universal suffrage for both sexes has been applied throughout Turkey since 1933 and before most countries, and every Turkish citizen who has turned 18 years of age has the right to vote. There are 600 members of parliament who are elected for a five-year term by a party-list proportional representation system from 85 electoral districts. The Constitutional Court can strip the public financing of political parties that it deems anti-secular or separatist, or ban their existence altogether. The electoral threshold is 10 percent of the votes.

Supporters of [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Atatürk]]'s reforms are called Kemalists, as distinguished from [[Islamism|Islamists]], representing the two diverging views regarding the role of religion in legislation, education and public life. The Kemalist view supports a form of democracy with a laicist [[constitution]] and Westernized secular lifestyle, while maintaining the necessity of state intervention in the economy, education and other public services. Since its foundation as a republic in 1923, Turkey has developed a strong tradition of secularism. However, since the 1980s, issues such as income inequality and class distinction have given rise to Islamic [[populism]], a movement that supports a larger role for religion in government policies, and in theory supports obligation to authority, communal solidarity and social justice; though what that entails in practice is often contested. Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the [[Justice and Development Party]] has been described as becoming increasingly authoritarian. Prior to the constitutional referendum in 2017 the Council of Europe saw Turkey drifting towards an autocracy, warning of a "dramatic regression of its democratic order". Many elements in the constitutional reform package that was approved with the referendum in 2017 have increased concerns in the European Union regarding democracy and the separation of powers in Turkey.

As of 2017 the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index rates Turkey at 4.88 (on a 0–10 scale), classifying Turkey as a Hybrid Regime. In 2018, Freedom House rated Turkey at 32 (on a 0–100 scale) as Not Free.

Human-right abuses, especially against [[Christians]] remains a problem<ref>http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78844.htm</ref> and the frequency of violent attacks on Christian ministers and priests is still high.<ref>http://washingtontimes.com/upi/20070418-030533-9552</ref><ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5139408.stm</ref>

The [[Kurdish Worker Party]] (PKK), an [[far-left|extreme]] [[leftist]] ethnic nationalist and [[separatism|separatist]] –originally [[Marxism-Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]]– [[terrorism|terrorist]] organization, founded in 1978, seeks the foundation of an independent [[socialism|socialist]] [[Kurds|Kurdish]] state.<ref name="Jongerden">{{Cite journal|last=Jongerden|first=Joost|date=2017-10-01|title=Gender equality and radical democracy: Contractions and conflicts in relation to the "new paradigm" within the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)|url=https://journals.openedition.org/anatoli/618|journal=Anatoli. De l'Adriatique à la Caspienne. Territoires, Politique, Sociétés|language=en|issue=8|pages=233–256|doi=10.4000/anatoli.618|issn=2111-4064}}</ref> It is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey,<ref name="RadioFrance">{{cite news|url=http://www.english.rfi.fr/asia-pacific/20140116-turkey-spy-agency-denies-role-paris-kurds-murder-launches-probe|title=Turkey spy agency denies role in Paris Kurds murder, launches probe|date=16 January 2014|publisher=Radio France Internationale|access-date=5 February 2014}}</ref> the [[United States]],<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|title=Foreign Terrorist Organizations|url=https://www.state.gov/foreign-terrorist-organizations/|access-date=2021-03-10|website=United States Department of State|language=en-US}}</ref> the [[European Union]],<ref name=":10">{{Cite web|title=Turkey 2019 Report|url=https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/sites/near/files/20190529-turkey-report.pdf|access-date=16 December 2019|website=ec.europa.eu|page=5}}</ref> and some other countries.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web|last=department|first=Attorney-General's|title=Listed terrorist organisations|url=https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205054738/http://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx|archive-date=5 February 2016|access-date=18 December 2019|website=www.nationalsecurity.gov.au|language=en-au}}</ref><ref name="Japan_ban">{{cite web|title=MOFA: Implementation of the Measures including the Freezing of Assets against Terrorists and the Like|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406134416/http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html|archive-date=6 April 2013|access-date=21 November 2013}}</ref> The PKK was formed as part of the Kurdish nationalist schism within the Turkish [[communism|communist]] movement<ref name="Jongerden"/> and the growing discontent over the suppression of Turkey's Kurds, in an effort to establish linguistic, cultural, and political rights for the Kurdish minority.<ref name="Palgrave Macmillan">{{cite book|last1=Joseph|first1=J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G06BDAAAQBAJ|title=Turkey and the European Union internal dynamics and external challenges|date=2006|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|isbn=0230598587|location=Basingstoke [England]|page=100}}</ref> Following the military coup of 1980, the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in public and private life to prevent separatism.<ref name="NYTK">Toumani, Meline. [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/magazine/17turkey-t.html?ex=1361854800&en=df64cf85326e2103&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink Minority Rules], ''[[New York Times]]'', 17 February 2008</ref> Many who spoke, published, or sang in Kurdish were arrested and imprisoned.<ref name="Cambridge University Press">{{cite book|last1=Aslan|first1=Senem|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wTAWBQAAQBAJ|title=Nation Building in Turkey and Morocco|date=2014|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1107054608|page=134}}</ref> The PKK's response to these policies has been the bombing of downtowns, the massacre of civilians, and the destruction of schools and hospitals in the Kurdish-majority cities of Turkey.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10576100701558620|doi = 10.1080/10576100701558620|title = The Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) as Criminal Syndicate: Funding Terrorism through Organized Crime, A Case Study|year = 2007|last1 = Roth|first1 = Mitchel P.|last2 = Sever|first2 = Murat|journal = Studies in Conflict & Terrorism|volume = 30|issue = 10|pages = 901–920|s2cid = 110700560}}</ref><ref name="amnestysecurity"/><ref name="childsoldiers"/> It has faced condemnation by some countries and human rights organizations for the killing of teachers and civil servants,<ref name="amnestysecurity">{{Cite web | url = https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a9ea0.html | title = No Security Without Human Rights | publisher = [[Amnesty International]] | access-date = 1 February 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Öğretmen Necmettin Yılmaz'ın Öldürülmesini Kınıyoruz!|url=https://www.ihd.org.tr/ogretmen-necmettin-yilmazin-oldurulmesini-kiniyoruz/|access-date=2021-03-12|website=[[İnsan Hakları Derneği]]|language=tr}}</ref> using [[Suicide attack|suicide bombers]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Foreign diplomats, countries condemn Cizre attack - World News|url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/foreign-diplomats-countries-condemn-cizre-attack-103271|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Hürriyet Daily News|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=PKK claims deadly suicide bombing at Turkish police station|url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-claims-responsibility-suicide-bombing-left-11-dead-turkey-1381604350|access-date=27 December 2018|website=Middle East Eye|archive-date=14 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214114351/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-claims-responsibility-suicide-bombing-left-11-dead-turkey-1381604350|url-status=dead}}</ref> and recruiting child soldiers.<ref name="childsoldiers">{{Cite web | url = https://www.refworld.org/docid/498805c428.html | title = Child Soldiers Global Report 2001 - Turkey | publisher = [[Child Soldiers International]] | access-date = 1 February 2021 }}</ref><ref name="HRWCS">{{Cite web|date=2016-12-22|title=Iraq: Armed Groups Using Child Soldiers|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/12/22/iraq-armed-groups-using-child-soldiers-0|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Human Rights Watch|language=en}}</ref> It was armed by the [[Obama administration]].<ref>https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/antifa-ypg-pkk-ties-threaten-national-peace-in-west/1899520</ref> The PKK trained [[Antifa]] fighters in Northern [[Syria]].<ref>https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/war-on-terror/ypgpkk-recruited-foreign-fighters-from-antifa-groups-in-western-countries-report-says</ref>

[[File:Ankara panorama Turkey.jpg|thumb|center|700px|The capital Ankara.]]

{{Clear}}
===Principal government officials===
*President of the Republic — Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
*Vice President of the Republic — Fuat Oktay

===Foreign relations===
[[File:Turkish girls laughing in calimanesti.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Turkish dancers in a festival in [[Romania]].]]
Turkey's primary political, economic, and security ties are with the West, although some voices call for a more "Eurasian" orientation.

Turkey entered NATO in 1952 and serves as the organization's vital eastern anchor, controlling the straits leading from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and sharing a border with Syria, Iraq, and Iran. A NATO headquarters is located in Izmir. Besides its relationships with NATO and the EU, Turkey is a member of the OECD, the Council of Europe, and OSCE. Turkey also is a member of the UN and the Islamic Conference Organization (OIC). In December 1999, Turkey became a candidate for EU membership. On December 17, 2004, the EU decided to begin formal accession negotiations with Turkey in October 2005.

Turkey and the EU formed a customs union beginning January 1, 1996. The agreement covers industrial and processed agricultural goods. Turkey is harmonizing its laws and regulations with EU standards. Turkey adopted the EU's Common External Tariff regime, effectively lowering Turkey's tariffs for third countries, including the United States.

On October 3, 2005, Turkey and the EU reached agreement for Turkey to begin negotiations on accession to the European Union. Turkey and EU officials have begun the process of screening Turkey's laws and policies in order to begin negotiating the individual chapters required for ultimate EU accession. However, this admission request has not been without criticism,<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2420697.stm</ref> including:
*Serious human rights violations<ref>http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20070419-0809-italy-turkey-eu.html</ref>
*Refusal to admit genocide of [[Armenia]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6043730.stm</ref>
*Refusal to recognize [[Cyprus]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6153186.stm</ref>
*Only 3% of Turkey is in [[Europe]]
*Threat of increasing [[Islamic]] fundamentalism<ref>http://www.freemuslims.org/news/article.php?article=1761</ref>

Turkey opened and provisionally closed in 2006 one EU negotiating chapter on science and technology. Another chapter on statistics was opened in February 2007, and two more are expected to be opened by July 1, 2007. Eight chapters, mostly related to trade, were suspended by the European Council in December 2006 after Turkey declined to open its ports and airports to Cypriot vessels—a commitment Turkey made as part of the Ankara Protocol and its EU Customs Union membership.

Turkey is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It has signed free trade agreements with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Israel, and many other countries. In 1992 Turkey and 10 other regional nations formed the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Council to expand regional trade and economic cooperation. Turkey chaired BSEC in 2007 and hosted in Istanbul the 15th BSEC Summit in June 2007.

===Relations with the United States===
U.S.-Turkish friendship dates to the late 18th century and was officially sealed by a treaty in 1830. The present close relationship began with the agreement of July 12, 1947, which implemented the Truman Doctrine. As part of the cooperative effort to further Turkish economic and military self-reliance, the United States has loaned and granted Turkey more than $12.5 billion in economic aid and more than $14 billion in military assistance.

U.S.-Turkish relations focus on areas such as strategic energy cooperation, trade and investment, security ties, regional stability, the global war on terrorism, and human rights progress. Relations were strained when Turkey refused in March 2003 to allow U.S. troops to deploy through its territory to Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom, but regained momentum steadily thereafter and mutual interests remain strong across a wide spectrum of issues. On July 5, 2006, Secretary Rice and then-Foreign Minister Gül signed a Shared Vision Statement to highlight the common values and goals between our two countries and to lay out a framework for increased strategic dialogue.

The U.S. and Turkey have had a Joint Economic Commission and a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, which last met in Washington in April 2007, for several years. In 2002, the two countries indicated their joint intent to upgrade bilateral economic relations by launching an Economic Partnership Commission, which last convened in Ankara in February 2007. In 2006, Turkish exports to the U.S. totaled about $5.4 billion, and U.S. exports to Turkey totaled $5.7 billion.

[[Condoleezza Rice]] ones described Turkey as “a vital and strategic partner of the United States”. But since the tenure of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan these times are over.<ref>https://www.nationalreview.com/article/348422/erdo%C4%9Fan%E2%80%99s-agenda</ref> For example, he equated [[Zionism]] with [[Fascism]], [[John Kerry]] criticized him for this statement.<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/01/official-kerry-to-rap-turkey-pm-for-remark/</ref>

==Economy==
[[Image:Framed medallion Turkey.jpg|300px|thumb|Framed medallion.]]
Turkey is a large, middle-income country with relatively few natural resources. Its economy is currently in transition from a high degree of reliance on agriculture and heavy industrial economy to a more diversified economy with an increasingly large and globalized services sector. Coming out of a tradition of a state-directed economy that was relatively closed to the outside world, Prime Minister and then President Turgut Özal began to open up the economy in the 1980s, leading to the signing of a Customs Union with the European Union in 1995. In the 1990s, Turkey's economy suffered from a series of coalition governments with weak economic policies, leading to high-inflation boom-and-bust cycles that culminated in a severe banking and economic crisis in 2001 and a deep economic downturn (GNP fell 9.5% in 2001) and increase in unemployment.

Turkey's economy has recovered strongly from the 2001 thanks to good monetary and fiscal policies and structural economic reforms made with the support of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The independence of the Central Bank has been firmly established, a floating exchange rate system has been put in place, and the government's overall budget deficit has been substantially reduced. In addition, there have been substantial reforms in the financial, energy, and telecommunications sectors that have included the privatization of several large state-owned institutions.

Turkey's economy grew an average of 7.5% per year from 2002 through 2006—one of the highest sustained rates of growth in the world. It is expected to grow about 6.1% in 2007. Inflation and interest rates have fallen significantly, the currency has stabilized, government debt has declined to more supportable levels, and business and consumer confidence have returned. At the same time, booming economic growth has contributed to a growing current account deficit. Though Turkey's vulnerabilities have been greatly reduced, the economy could still face problems in the event there is a sudden change in investor sentiment that leads to a sharp fall in the exchange rate. Continued implementation of reforms, including tight fiscal policy, is essential to sustain growth and stability.

After years of low levels of foreign direct investment (FDI), in 2006, Turkey succeeded in attracting $18.9 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) and is expected to attract a similar level in 2007. A series of large privatizations, the stability fostered by the start of Turkey's EU accession negotiations, strong and stable growth, and structural changes in the banking, retail, and telecommunications sectors have all contributed to the rise in foreign investment. Turkey has taken steps to improve its investment climate through administrative streamlining, an end to foreign investment screening, and strengthened intellectual property legislation. However, a number of disputes involving foreign investors in Turkey and certain policies, such as high taxation and continuing gaps in the intellectual property regime, inhibit investment. Turkey has a number of bilateral investment and tax treaties, including with the United States, which guarantee free repatriation of capital in convertible currencies and eliminate double taxation.
*GDP: $750 billion (2020)
*GDP per capita: $8,824 (2020)
*Annual real GDP growth rate: (2004) (+) 8.9%; (2005) 7.4%; (2006) 6.0%.
*Annual inflation rate /CPI: (2003) 18.4%; (2004) 9.3%; (2005) 7.7%; (2006) 9.7%.
*Natural resources: Coal, chromium, mercury, copper, boron, oil, gold.
*Agriculture (10.8% of GNP): Major cash crops—cotton, sugar beets, hazelnuts, wheat, barley, and tobacco. Provides 26% of jobs and 4% of exports.
*Industry (25.4% of GNP): Major growth sector, types—automotive, electronics, food processing, textiles, basic metals, chemicals, and petrochemicals. Provides 20% of jobs.
*Trade: Exports (merchandise)--(2005) $73.1 billion; (2006) $83.5 billion: textiles and apparel, industrial machinery, iron and steel, electronics, petroleum products, and motor vehicles. Imports (merchandise)--(2005) $116 billion; (2006) 135.5 billion: petroleum, machinery, motor vehicles, electronics, iron and steel, plastics precious metals. Major partners—Germany, U.S., Italy, France, Russia, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, U.K.

====European Union accession====
Turkey's principal ongoing economic challenge is providing for the needs of a fast-growing, young population. Raising living standards to those prevalent in Europe will require high rates of GDP growth sustained over many years. This will entail continued structural reforms that encourage both domestic and foreign investment. Principal areas for reform identified by international financial intuitions include increasing flexibility in the labor market, making the educational sector more responsive to the needs of the economy and ensuring faster and more predictable operation of the judicial system. As an aspirant to membership in the European Union, Turkey aims to adopt the EU's basic system of national law and regulation (the acquis communautaire) by 2014. While implementing some elements of the acquis will be costly and difficult (for example in the areas of environmental protection and agriculture), its adoption will make a significant contribution to modernizing the economy.

====Energy====
[[File:Electric Energy Grid Turkey.jpg|thumb|360px|Electric Energy Grid.]]
Installed electricity generation capacity in Turkey reached 35,600 megawatts (MW) as of 2004. Fossil fuels account for 71% of the total installed capacity and hydro, geothermal, and wind account for the remaining 28%. The growth in electricity generation has remained below electricity demand until recently, which has made Turkey a net importer of electricity since 1997. The growth of energy demand slowed somewhat as a result of the 2001 economic crisis, but has picked up again. Turkish authorities expect a significant electricity shortfall unless new facilities become operational. The Government of Turkey took some important steps in 2001 to liberalize its energy sector, including passage of the Electricity Market Law and establishment of the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA). However, the government has moved slowly to follow through on plans to liberalize and privatize the electricity and natural gas sectors. In 2004, the High Planning Council approved the Electricity Sector Reform Strategy to renew the reform process.

Oil provides about 43% of Turkey's total energy requirements; around 90% is imported. Domestic production is mostly from small fields in the southeast. New exploration is taking place in the eastern Black Sea. In 2004, the Parliament approved a petroleum market reform bill that liberalized consumer prices and would lead to the privatization of the state refining company TUPRAS. TUPRAS was privatized in 2005, but this has been held up by court cases still in process. Turkey has a refining capacity of 802,275 barrels per day (b/d).

Turkey acts as an important link in the East-West Southern Energy Corridor bringing Caspian, Central Asian, and Middle Eastern energy to Europe and world markets. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which came online in July 2006, delivers 1 million b/d of petroleum, and in 2007, the South Caucasus Pipeline (from Shah Deniz) is expected to bring natural gas from Azerbaijan to Turkey. Turkey is building an interconnector pipeline to Greece, an important step in bringing Caspian natural gas to Europe via Turkey.

====Telecommunications====
[[File:Turk map.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Map of Turkey.]]
Parliament enacted legislation separating telecommunications policy and regulatory functions in January 2000, by establishing an independent regulatory body, the Telecommunication Authority. The Authority is responsible for issuing licenses, supervising operators, and taking necessary technical measures against violations of the rules. Most regulatory functions of the Transport Ministry were transferred to the Authority, and the regulator is slowly gaining competence and independence. The long-expected privatization of the state-owned telecommunications company was accomplished by the sale of 55% of Turk Telekom to the Saudi-owned Oger Group in November 2005. With liberalization and growth in the economy, there is growing competition for Internet provision, but Turk Telekom remains the sole provider of ADSL wide band Internet.

====Environment====
[[File:TurkishForest.jpg|thumb|left|280px|Turkish forest.]]
With the establishment of the Environment Ministry in 1991, Turkey began to make significant progress addressing its most pressing environmental problems. The most dramatic improvements were significant reductions of air pollution in Istanbul and Ankara. However, progress has been slow on the remaining—and serious—environmental challenges facing Turkey.

In 2003, the Ministry of Environment was merged with the Forestry Ministry. With its goal to join the EU, Turkey has made commendable progress in updating and modernizing its environmental legislation. However, environmental concerns are not fully integrated into public decision-making and enforcement can be weak. Turkey faces a backlog of environmental problems, requiring enormous outlays for infrastructure. The most pressing needs are for water treatment plants, wastewater treatment facilities, solid waste management, and conservation of biodiversity. The discovery of a number of chemical waste sites in 2006 has highlighted weakness in environmental law and oversight.
{{Clear}}

====Transportation====
The Turkish Government gives a special priority to major infrastructure projects, especially in the transport sector. The government is in the process of building new airports and highways, thanks to an increased public investment budget. The government will realize many of these projects by utilizing the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.

== See also ==
[[File:Blue mosque Istanbul Turkey.jpg|thumb|The Blue Mosque, Istanbul.]]
*[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]]
*[[Battle of Adrianople]]
*[[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]]
*[[Oriental art]]
*[[Göbekli Tepe]]
*[[Catal Huyuk|Çatalhöyük]]
{{Clear}}

== External links ==
*[http://bertschlossberg.blogspot.com/ A Turkish Delight: they think so in Israel also!]

==References==
{{reflist}}

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!colspan=2 style="width: 100%; text-align: center; background-color: #000088; color: white; "|'''Copyright Details'''
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!style="background-color: #000088; color:white;"|License:
|style=" background-color: none;"| This work is in the [[Public Domain]] in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the U.S. Code
|-
!style=" background-color: #000088; color:white;"|Source:
|style="background-color: none;border-top: 2px solid black"| File available from the {{{1|[[United States Federal Government]] [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3432.htm]}}}.
|}

{{Asian Countries}}

[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:NATO Members]]
[[Category:Turkey]]
[[Category:Muslim-Majority Countries]]

Kurdistan

2022-02-13T15:19:34Z

Andrewlee:

'''Kurdistan''' is the [[Kurds|Kurdish]]-majority territories in western [[Asia]] spanning most of southeastern [[Turkey]]. Parts of modern day Iraq, Syria and Iran are also included in Kurdistan. It is not a recognized entity in any of the nations it inhabits, but the Kurdish people do have an autonomous zone in northern Iraq that was set up after the first Iraq war, where they govern themselves with de facto independence. Territory controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces in the [[Syrian war]] has also been described as "Kurdistan", though they do not consider themselves such.

The Kurdish people have been engaging in an ongoing struggle for a free and independent Kurdistan for nearly 100 years and have ranged success against some of the strongest militaries in the Middle East including Iran and Iraq. Military success against Iraq was met with the reprisal of chemical attacks that killed thousands of Kurds during Saddam's reign.

Kurdish freedom fighter groups have the distinction of fielding entire units of women fighters and giving women equal status and rights within the Kurdish government.

The movement for a free and independent Kurdistan has sometimes been helped and hindered by the outside world, namely the US. The Kurds fight against the Iraqi, Iranian, Syrian and Turkish militaries for control over Kurdistan and outside support has waxed and waned depending on US relations with the nations Kurdistan is a part of.

[[Category:Asia]]

Turkiye

2022-02-13T15:15:10Z

Andrewlee: /* Government and political conditions */

For the animal with the same name see [[Turkey (bird)]]

{{Country
|name =''Türkiye Cumhuriyeti''
|map =Turkey rel 2006.jpg
|flag =Flag of Turkey.png
|arms =Emblem of Turkey.svg.png
|capital =Ankara
|capital-raw =
|government =Republic
|government-raw =
|language =Turkish
|king =
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =
|pm-raw =
|area =302,535 sq mi
|pop =85,000,000 (2020)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =$794,000,000,000 (2021)
|gdp-year =
|gdp-pc =$9,327 (2021)
|currency =Turkish lira
|idd =
|tld =
}}
The '''Republic of Turkey''' is a transcontinental country occupying the Anatolian Peninsula of [[Western Asia]], as well as a small section of Southeastern [[Europe]] at the Bosporus Strait.

Turkey has a lot of cultural heritage places. It is the land of the Seven Churches of [[Book of Revelation|Revelation]]. 89.5% of its people are [[Muslim]]s<ref>[https://t24.com.tr/haber/optimar-dan-din-inanc-anketi-yuzde-89-allah-in-varligina-ve-birligine-inaniyor,821459 Optimar'dan din-inanç anketi: Yüzde 89 Allah'ın varlığına ve birliğine inanıyor]</ref> and religion doesn't play a pivotal role in their lives. Most of the Turks are said to be cultural or nominal Muslims and continue to practice [[Shamanism|shamanistic]] traditions from pre-Islamic heritage. Although, [[atheism]] and [[deism]] are increasing in Turkey, there is a growing amount of [[Islamism]], largely due to [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan|Erdoğan]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2018/04/turkey-why-so-many-turks-are-losing-faith-in-islam.html|title=Why so many Turks are losing faith in Islam|last=Akyol|first=Mustafa|date=2018-04-16|work=Al-Monitor|access-date=2018-04-21|language=en-us}}</ref><ref>[https://www.dw.com/en/atheism-grows-in-turkey-as-recep-tayyip-erdogan-urges-islam/a-47018029 Atheism grows in Turkey as Recep Tayyip Erdogan urges Islam]</ref><ref>[http://asianews.it/news-en/The-number-of-atheists-increasing-in-Turkey-45956.html The number of atheists increasing in Turkey]</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43981745 The young Turks rejecting Islam]</ref><ref>https://www.thecairoreview.com/essays/turkeys-pan-islamist-foreign-policy/</ref>

Turkey continued the [[Western world|West]]-oriented [[modernization]] initiated by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] dynasty and statesmen. Many things in Turkey contain a mixture of the West and the East, the old and the new, the traditional and the modern. When you visit even the smallest city in Turkey no matter how little its population is, you will find that different cultural elements, traditions, beliefs, languages or dialects live.<ref>[https://www.studyinturkey.gov.tr/StudyinTurkey/ShowDetail?rID=ctfC0sgwTeQ=&&cId=PE4Nr0mMoY4= Culture - Study in Turkey]</ref> Even those who have not done anything related to [[Islam]] in their lives see being Muslim as a part of their identity. Therefore, they may have a negative attitude towards [[Christianity]] or other religions. Because of historical hostilities and bigotry, Turkey is virulently [[Anti-Christian sentiment|anti-Christian]].<ref>https://www.jihadwatch.org/2020/03/turkey-muslims-screaming-allahu-akbar-disrupt-christian-funeral-desecrate-christian-graves</ref> Despite being a [[secular]] and [[Westernization|Westernized]] country, it incites against Christians and the other non-[[Sunni]] religious minorities due to radical nature of Islamic cultural background. It is sometimes debated whether Turkey is a [[secular state]] due to state support for Sunnism. (Sunni clergy are civil servants. Mosques are under state control.) The governing [[Justice and Development Party|AKP]] in Turkey depicts Christians as a "threat to the stability of the nation". Turkish Christian citizens have often been stereotyped as not "real Turks" but as "Western collaborators" by this bigoted and prejudiced point of view.<ref>[https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/israel-zionism/2020/12/how-yasir-arafat-drove-christians-from-bethlehem/ How Yasir Arafat Drove Christians from Bethlehem] D. Weinberg, Mosaic Mag., Dec. 28, 2020.</ref>

==History==
[[Image:St. Sophie Turkey.jpg|right|280px|thumb|Hagia Sophia, Istanbul.]]
[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Mustafa Kemal Pasha]], celebrated by the Turkish State as a Turkish [[World War I]] hero and later known as Atatürk ("Father-Turk"), led the founding of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 after the collapse of the 600-year-old [[Ottoman Empire]] and a three-year war of independence. The empire, which at its peak controlled vast stretches of Northern Africa, Southeastern Europe, and Western Asia, had failed to keep pace with European social and technological developments. The rise of national consciousness impelled several national groups within the Empire to seek independence as nation-states, leading to the empire's fragmentation. This process culminated in the disastrous Ottoman participation in World War I as a German ally. Defeated, shorn of much of its former territory, and partly occupied by forces of the victorious European states, the Ottoman structure was repudiated by Turkish nationalists brought together under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal. The nationalists expelled invading Greek, Armenian, French, British, and Italian forces from Anatolia and Turkish Thrace in a bitter war—and with a diplomatic struggle. After the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey the temporal and religious ruling institutions of the old empire (the sultanate and caliphate) were abolished.

The leaders of the new republic concentrated on consolidating their power and modernizing and Westernizing what had been the empire's core—Asian Anatolia and a part of European Thrace. Social, political, linguistic, and economic reforms and attitudes decreed by Atatürk from 1924-1934 continue to be referred to as the ideological base of modern Turkey. In the post-Atatürk era, and especially after the military coup of 1960, this ideology came to be known as "Kemalism" and his reforms began to be referred to as "revolutions." Kemalism comprises a Turkish form of secularism, strong nationalism, statism, and to a degree a western orientation. The continued validity and applicability of Kemalism are the subject of lively debate in Turkey's political life. The current ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) comes from a tradition that challenges many of the Kemalist precepts and is driven in its reform efforts by a desire to achieve EU accession.

Turkey entered [[World War II]] on the Allied side until shortly before the war ended, becoming a charter member of the [[United Nations]]. Difficulties faced by [[Greece]] after World War II in quelling a communist rebellion and demands by the [[Soviet Union]] for military bases in the Turkish Straits prompted the United States to declare the [[Truman Doctrine]] in 1947. The doctrine enunciated American intentions to guarantee the security of Turkey and Greece and resulted in large scale U.S. military and economic aid under the [[Marshall Plan]]. After participating with United Nations forces in the [[Korean War|Korean conflict]], Turkey in 1952 joined the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] (NATO). Turkey is currently a [[European Union]] candidate, although this has been clouded by their refusal to acknowledge the [[Armenian genocide]].

==Disputed territories==
===Kurdistan===
:{{Main article|Kurdistan}}

==People==
[[File:Istiklal Caddesi 06 24 09 0068.jpg|thumb|right|A busy day on İstiklal Avenue, Istanbul.]]
Modern Turkey encompasses bustling [[cosmopolitan]] centers, pastoral farming villages, barren wastelands, peaceful Aegean coastlines, and steep mountain regions. More than half of Turkey's population lives in urban areas that juxtapose Western lifestyles with more traditional ways of life.

Turkey is officially a [[secular state|secular]] country with no official religion since the constitutional amendment in 1928 and later strengthened by Atatürk's Reforms and the appliance of laicism by the country's founder and first president [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]] on February 5, 1937. Due to oppression of [[Christianity]], Turkey's population is nearly entirely (at least cultural) [[Muslim]]. Most Turkish Muslims follow the [[Sunni]] traditions of Islam, although a significant number follow Alevi and [[Shiite]] traditions. Questions regarding role of religion in society and government, the role of linguistic and ethnic identity, and the public's expectation to live in security dominate public discourse. Turkish citizens who assert a [[Kurds|Kurdish]] identity constitute an ethnic and linguistic group that is estimated at up to 12 million in number.
[[File:Iskenderun church.jpg|thumb|right|St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in İskenderun, Hatay.]]
*Population (2018): 82 million.
*Annual population growth rate (2017 est.): 1.24%.
*Ethnic groups: Turkish, Kurdish, other.
*Religions: Muslim (majority), Christian, [[Baha'i Faith|Baha'i]], and Jewish.
*Languages: Turkish (official and majority), Kurdish, Zaza, Arabic, Armenian, Greek.
*Education: Years compulsory—8. Attendance—97.6%. Literacy—86.5%. ''(it's not current data)''
*Health: Infant mortality rate—39.4/1,000. Life expectancy—68.5 yrs. ''(it's not current data)''
*Work force (23 million): Agriculture—35.6%; industry—17.5%; services—47.2%. ''(it's not current data)''

==Government and political conditions==
The 1982 Constitution, drafted by the military in the wake of a 1980 military coup, proclaims Turkey's system of government as [[democracy|democratic]], [[secular state|secular]], and [[Parliamentary Republic|parliamentary]]. A [[Presidential Government|presidential system]] was adopted with a referendum in 2017; the new system came into effect with the presidential election in 2018 and gives the President complete control of the executive, including the power to issue decrees, appoint his own cabinet, draw up the budget, dissolve parliament by calling early elections, and pack the bureaucracy and the courts with political appointees. The office of Prime Minister has been abolished and its powers (together with those of the Cabinet) have been transferred to the President, who is the head of state and is elected for a five-year term by direct elections. [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] is the first president elected by direct voting. Turkey's constitution governs the legal framework of the country. It sets out the main principles of government and establishes Turkey as a unitary centralized state.

Executive power is exercized by the President, while the legislative power is vested in the unicameral parliament, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The judiciary is nominally independent from the executive and the legislature, but the constitutional changes that came into effect with the referendums in 2007, 2010 and 2017 gave larger powers to the President and the ruling party for appointing or dismissing judges and prosecutors. The Constitutional Court is charged with ruling on the conformity of laws and decrees with the constitution. The Council of State is the tribunal of last resort for administrative cases, and the High Court of Appeals for all others.
[[File:Turkish Parliament in Ankara.jpg|thumb|300px|The Parliament in Ankara.]]

Universal suffrage for both sexes has been applied throughout Turkey since 1933 and before most countries, and every Turkish citizen who has turned 18 years of age has the right to vote. There are 600 members of parliament who are elected for a five-year term by a party-list proportional representation system from 85 electoral districts. The Constitutional Court can strip the public financing of political parties that it deems anti-secular or separatist, or ban their existence altogether. The electoral threshold is 10 percent of the votes.

Supporters of [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Atatürk]]'s reforms are called Kemalists, as distinguished from [[Islamism|Islamists]], representing the two diverging views regarding the role of religion in legislation, education and public life. The Kemalist view supports a form of democracy with a laicist [[constitution]] and Westernized secular lifestyle, while maintaining the necessity of state intervention in the economy, education and other public services. Since its foundation as a republic in 1923, Turkey has developed a strong tradition of secularism. However, since the 1980s, issues such as income inequality and class distinction have given rise to Islamic [[populism]], a movement that supports a larger role for religion in government policies, and in theory supports obligation to authority, communal solidarity and social justice; though what that entails in practice is often contested. Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the [[Justice and Development Party]] has been described as becoming increasingly authoritarian. Prior to the constitutional referendum in 2017 the Council of Europe saw Turkey drifting towards an autocracy, warning of a "dramatic regression of its democratic order". Many elements in the constitutional reform package that was approved with the referendum in 2017 have increased concerns in the European Union regarding democracy and the separation of powers in Turkey.

As of 2017 the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index rates Turkey at 4.88 (on a 0–10 scale), classifying Turkey as a Hybrid Regime. In 2018, Freedom House rated Turkey at 32 (on a 0–100 scale) as Not Free.

Human-right abuses, especially against [[Christians]] remains a problem<ref>http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78844.htm</ref> and the frequency of violent attacks on Christian ministers and priests is still high.<ref>http://washingtontimes.com/upi/20070418-030533-9552</ref><ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5139408.stm</ref>

The [[Kurdish Worker Party]] (PKK), an [[far-left|extreme]] [[leftist]] ethnic nationalist and [[separatism|separatist]] –originally [[Marxism-Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]]– [[terrorism|terrorist]] organization, founded in 1978, seeks the foundation of an independent [[socialism|socialist]] [[Kurds|Kurdish]] state.<ref name="Jongerden">{{Cite journal|last=Jongerden|first=Joost|date=2017-10-01|title=Gender equality and radical democracy: Contractions and conflicts in relation to the "new paradigm" within the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)|url=https://journals.openedition.org/anatoli/618|journal=Anatoli. De l'Adriatique à la Caspienne. Territoires, Politique, Sociétés|language=en|issue=8|pages=233–256|doi=10.4000/anatoli.618|issn=2111-4064}}</ref> It is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey,<ref name="RadioFrance">{{cite news|url=http://www.english.rfi.fr/asia-pacific/20140116-turkey-spy-agency-denies-role-paris-kurds-murder-launches-probe|title=Turkey spy agency denies role in Paris Kurds murder, launches probe|date=16 January 2014|publisher=Radio France Internationale|access-date=5 February 2014}}</ref> the [[United States]],<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|title=Foreign Terrorist Organizations|url=https://www.state.gov/foreign-terrorist-organizations/|access-date=2021-03-10|website=United States Department of State|language=en-US}}</ref> the [[European Union]],<ref name=":10">{{Cite web|title=Turkey 2019 Report|url=https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/sites/near/files/20190529-turkey-report.pdf|access-date=16 December 2019|website=ec.europa.eu|page=5}}</ref> and some other countries.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web|last=department|first=Attorney-General's|title=Listed terrorist organisations|url=https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205054738/http://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx|archive-date=5 February 2016|access-date=18 December 2019|website=www.nationalsecurity.gov.au|language=en-au}}</ref><ref name="Japan_ban">{{cite web|title=MOFA: Implementation of the Measures including the Freezing of Assets against Terrorists and the Like|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406134416/http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html|archive-date=6 April 2013|access-date=21 November 2013}}</ref> The PKK was formed as part of the Kurdish nationalist schism within the Turkish [[communism|communist]] movement<ref name="Jongerden"/> and the growing discontent over the suppression of Turkey's Kurds, in an effort to establish linguistic, cultural, and political rights for the Kurdish minority.<ref name="Palgrave Macmillan">{{cite book|last1=Joseph|first1=J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G06BDAAAQBAJ|title=Turkey and the European Union internal dynamics and external challenges|date=2006|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|isbn=0230598587|location=Basingstoke [England]|page=100}}</ref> Following the military coup of 1980, the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in public and private life to prevent separatism.<ref name="NYTK">Toumani, Meline. [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/magazine/17turkey-t.html?ex=1361854800&en=df64cf85326e2103&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink Minority Rules], ''[[New York Times]]'', 17 February 2008</ref> Many who spoke, published, or sang in Kurdish were arrested and imprisoned.<ref name="Cambridge University Press">{{cite book|last1=Aslan|first1=Senem|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wTAWBQAAQBAJ|title=Nation Building in Turkey and Morocco|date=2014|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1107054608|page=134}}</ref> The PKK's response to these policies has been the bombing of downtowns, the massacre of civilians, and the destruction of schools and hospitals in the Kurdish-majority cities of Turkey.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10576100701558620|doi = 10.1080/10576100701558620|title = The Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) as Criminal Syndicate: Funding Terrorism through Organized Crime, A Case Study|year = 2007|last1 = Roth|first1 = Mitchel P.|last2 = Sever|first2 = Murat|journal = Studies in Conflict & Terrorism|volume = 30|issue = 10|pages = 901–920|s2cid = 110700560}}</ref><ref name="amnestysecurity"/><ref name="childsoldiers"/> It has faced condemnation by some countries and human rights organizations for the killing of teachers and civil servants,<ref name="amnestysecurity">{{Cite web | url = https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a9ea0.html | title = No Security Without Human Rights | publisher = [[Amnesty International]] | access-date = 1 February 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Öğretmen Necmettin Yılmaz'ın Öldürülmesini Kınıyoruz!|url=https://www.ihd.org.tr/ogretmen-necmettin-yilmazin-oldurulmesini-kiniyoruz/|access-date=2021-03-12|website=[[İnsan Hakları Derneği]]|language=tr}}</ref> using [[Suicide attack|suicide bombers]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Foreign diplomats, countries condemn Cizre attack - World News|url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/foreign-diplomats-countries-condemn-cizre-attack-103271|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Hürriyet Daily News|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=PKK claims deadly suicide bombing at Turkish police station|url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-claims-responsibility-suicide-bombing-left-11-dead-turkey-1381604350|access-date=27 December 2018|website=Middle East Eye|archive-date=14 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214114351/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-claims-responsibility-suicide-bombing-left-11-dead-turkey-1381604350|url-status=dead}}</ref> and recruiting child soldiers.<ref name="childsoldiers">{{Cite web | url = https://www.refworld.org/docid/498805c428.html | title = Child Soldiers Global Report 2001 - Turkey | publisher = [[Child Soldiers International]] | access-date = 1 February 2021 }}</ref><ref name="HRWCS">{{Cite web|date=2016-12-22|title=Iraq: Armed Groups Using Child Soldiers|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/12/22/iraq-armed-groups-using-child-soldiers-0|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Human Rights Watch|language=en}}</ref> It was armed by the [[Obama administration]].<ref>https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/antifa-ypg-pkk-ties-threaten-national-peace-in-west/1899520</ref> The PKK trained [[Antifa]] fighters in Northern [[Syria]].<ref>https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/war-on-terror/ypgpkk-recruited-foreign-fighters-from-antifa-groups-in-western-countries-report-says</ref>

[[File:Ankara panorama Turkey.jpg|thumb|center|700px|The capital Ankara.]]

{{Clear}}
===Principal government officials===
*President of the Republic — Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
*Vice President of the Republic — Fuat Oktay

===Foreign relations===
[[File:Turkish girls laughing in calimanesti.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Turkish dancers in a festival in [[Romania]].]]
Turkey's primary political, economic, and security ties are with the West, although some voices call for a more "Eurasian" orientation.

Turkey entered NATO in 1952 and serves as the organization's vital eastern anchor, controlling the straits leading from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and sharing a border with Syria, Iraq, and Iran. A NATO headquarters is located in Izmir. Besides its relationships with NATO and the EU, Turkey is a member of the OECD, the Council of Europe, and OSCE. Turkey also is a member of the UN and the Islamic Conference Organization (OIC). In December 1999, Turkey became a candidate for EU membership. On December 17, 2004, the EU decided to begin formal accession negotiations with Turkey in October 2005.

Turkey and the EU formed a customs union beginning January 1, 1996. The agreement covers industrial and processed agricultural goods. Turkey is harmonizing its laws and regulations with EU standards. Turkey adopted the EU's Common External Tariff regime, effectively lowering Turkey's tariffs for third countries, including the United States.

On October 3, 2005, Turkey and the EU reached agreement for Turkey to begin negotiations on accession to the European Union. Turkey and EU officials have begun the process of screening Turkey's laws and policies in order to begin negotiating the individual chapters required for ultimate EU accession. However, this admission request has not been without criticism,<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2420697.stm</ref> including:
*Serious human rights violations<ref>http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20070419-0809-italy-turkey-eu.html</ref>
*Refusal to admit genocide of [[Armenia]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6043730.stm</ref>
*Refusal to recognize [[Cyprus]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6153186.stm</ref>
*Only 3% of Turkey is in [[Europe]]
*Threat of increasing [[Islamic]] fundamentalism<ref>http://www.freemuslims.org/news/article.php?article=1761</ref>

Turkey opened and provisionally closed in 2006 one EU negotiating chapter on science and technology. Another chapter on statistics was opened in February 2007, and two more are expected to be opened by July 1, 2007. Eight chapters, mostly related to trade, were suspended by the European Council in December 2006 after Turkey declined to open its ports and airports to Cypriot vessels—a commitment Turkey made as part of the Ankara Protocol and its EU Customs Union membership.

Turkey is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It has signed free trade agreements with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Israel, and many other countries. In 1992 Turkey and 10 other regional nations formed the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Council to expand regional trade and economic cooperation. Turkey chaired BSEC in 2007 and hosted in Istanbul the 15th BSEC Summit in June 2007.

===Relations with the United States===
U.S.-Turkish friendship dates to the late 18th century and was officially sealed by a treaty in 1830. The present close relationship began with the agreement of July 12, 1947, which implemented the Truman Doctrine. As part of the cooperative effort to further Turkish economic and military self-reliance, the United States has loaned and granted Turkey more than $12.5 billion in economic aid and more than $14 billion in military assistance.

U.S.-Turkish relations focus on areas such as strategic energy cooperation, trade and investment, security ties, regional stability, the global war on terrorism, and human rights progress. Relations were strained when Turkey refused in March 2003 to allow U.S. troops to deploy through its territory to Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom, but regained momentum steadily thereafter and mutual interests remain strong across a wide spectrum of issues. On July 5, 2006, Secretary Rice and then-Foreign Minister Gül signed a Shared Vision Statement to highlight the common values and goals between our two countries and to lay out a framework for increased strategic dialogue.

The U.S. and Turkey have had a Joint Economic Commission and a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, which last met in Washington in April 2007, for several years. In 2002, the two countries indicated their joint intent to upgrade bilateral economic relations by launching an Economic Partnership Commission, which last convened in Ankara in February 2007. In 2006, Turkish exports to the U.S. totaled about $5.4 billion, and U.S. exports to Turkey totaled $5.7 billion.

[[Condoleezza Rice]] ones described Turkey as “a vital and strategic partner of the United States”. But since the tenure of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan these times are over.<ref>https://www.nationalreview.com/article/348422/erdo%C4%9Fan%E2%80%99s-agenda</ref> For example, he equated [[Zionism]] with [[Fascism]], [[John Kerry]] criticized him for this statement.<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/01/official-kerry-to-rap-turkey-pm-for-remark/</ref>

==Economy==
[[Image:Framed medallion Turkey.jpg|300px|thumb|Framed medallion.]]
Turkey is a large, middle-income country with relatively few natural resources. Its economy is currently in transition from a high degree of reliance on agriculture and heavy industrial economy to a more diversified economy with an increasingly large and globalized services sector. Coming out of a tradition of a state-directed economy that was relatively closed to the outside world, Prime Minister and then President Turgut Özal began to open up the economy in the 1980s, leading to the signing of a Customs Union with the European Union in 1995. In the 1990s, Turkey's economy suffered from a series of coalition governments with weak economic policies, leading to high-inflation boom-and-bust cycles that culminated in a severe banking and economic crisis in 2001 and a deep economic downturn (GNP fell 9.5% in 2001) and increase in unemployment.

Turkey's economy has recovered strongly from the 2001 thanks to good monetary and fiscal policies and structural economic reforms made with the support of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The independence of the Central Bank has been firmly established, a floating exchange rate system has been put in place, and the government's overall budget deficit has been substantially reduced. In addition, there have been substantial reforms in the financial, energy, and telecommunications sectors that have included the privatization of several large state-owned institutions.

Turkey's economy grew an average of 7.5% per year from 2002 through 2006—one of the highest sustained rates of growth in the world. It is expected to grow about 6.1% in 2007. Inflation and interest rates have fallen significantly, the currency has stabilized, government debt has declined to more supportable levels, and business and consumer confidence have returned. At the same time, booming economic growth has contributed to a growing current account deficit. Though Turkey's vulnerabilities have been greatly reduced, the economy could still face problems in the event there is a sudden change in investor sentiment that leads to a sharp fall in the exchange rate. Continued implementation of reforms, including tight fiscal policy, is essential to sustain growth and stability.

After years of low levels of foreign direct investment (FDI), in 2006, Turkey succeeded in attracting $18.9 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) and is expected to attract a similar level in 2007. A series of large privatizations, the stability fostered by the start of Turkey's EU accession negotiations, strong and stable growth, and structural changes in the banking, retail, and telecommunications sectors have all contributed to the rise in foreign investment. Turkey has taken steps to improve its investment climate through administrative streamlining, an end to foreign investment screening, and strengthened intellectual property legislation. However, a number of disputes involving foreign investors in Turkey and certain policies, such as high taxation and continuing gaps in the intellectual property regime, inhibit investment. Turkey has a number of bilateral investment and tax treaties, including with the United States, which guarantee free repatriation of capital in convertible currencies and eliminate double taxation.
*GDP: $750 billion (2020)
*GDP per capita: $8,824 (2020)
*Annual real GDP growth rate: (2004) (+) 8.9%; (2005) 7.4%; (2006) 6.0%.
*Annual inflation rate /CPI: (2003) 18.4%; (2004) 9.3%; (2005) 7.7%; (2006) 9.7%.
*Natural resources: Coal, chromium, mercury, copper, boron, oil, gold.
*Agriculture (10.8% of GNP): Major cash crops—cotton, sugar beets, hazelnuts, wheat, barley, and tobacco. Provides 26% of jobs and 4% of exports.
*Industry (25.4% of GNP): Major growth sector, types—automotive, electronics, food processing, textiles, basic metals, chemicals, and petrochemicals. Provides 20% of jobs.
*Trade: Exports (merchandise)--(2005) $73.1 billion; (2006) $83.5 billion: textiles and apparel, industrial machinery, iron and steel, electronics, petroleum products, and motor vehicles. Imports (merchandise)--(2005) $116 billion; (2006) 135.5 billion: petroleum, machinery, motor vehicles, electronics, iron and steel, plastics precious metals. Major partners—Germany, U.S., Italy, France, Russia, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, U.K.

====European Union accession====
Turkey's principal ongoing economic challenge is providing for the needs of a fast-growing, young population. Raising living standards to those prevalent in Europe will require high rates of GDP growth sustained over many years. This will entail continued structural reforms that encourage both domestic and foreign investment. Principal areas for reform identified by international financial intuitions include increasing flexibility in the labor market, making the educational sector more responsive to the needs of the economy and ensuring faster and more predictable operation of the judicial system. As an aspirant to membership in the European Union, Turkey aims to adopt the EU's basic system of national law and regulation (the acquis communautaire) by 2014. While implementing some elements of the acquis will be costly and difficult (for example in the areas of environmental protection and agriculture), its adoption will make a significant contribution to modernizing the economy.

====Energy====
[[File:Electric Energy Grid Turkey.jpg|thumb|360px|Electric Energy Grid.]]
Installed electricity generation capacity in Turkey reached 35,600 megawatts (MW) as of 2004. Fossil fuels account for 71% of the total installed capacity and hydro, geothermal, and wind account for the remaining 28%. The growth in electricity generation has remained below electricity demand until recently, which has made Turkey a net importer of electricity since 1997. The growth of energy demand slowed somewhat as a result of the 2001 economic crisis, but has picked up again. Turkish authorities expect a significant electricity shortfall unless new facilities become operational. The Government of Turkey took some important steps in 2001 to liberalize its energy sector, including passage of the Electricity Market Law and establishment of the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA). However, the government has moved slowly to follow through on plans to liberalize and privatize the electricity and natural gas sectors. In 2004, the High Planning Council approved the Electricity Sector Reform Strategy to renew the reform process.

Oil provides about 43% of Turkey's total energy requirements; around 90% is imported. Domestic production is mostly from small fields in the southeast. New exploration is taking place in the eastern Black Sea. In 2004, the Parliament approved a petroleum market reform bill that liberalized consumer prices and would lead to the privatization of the state refining company TUPRAS. TUPRAS was privatized in 2005, but this has been held up by court cases still in process. Turkey has a refining capacity of 802,275 barrels per day (b/d).

Turkey acts as an important link in the East-West Southern Energy Corridor bringing Caspian, Central Asian, and Middle Eastern energy to Europe and world markets. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which came online in July 2006, delivers 1 million b/d of petroleum, and in 2007, the South Caucasus Pipeline (from Shah Deniz) is expected to bring natural gas from Azerbaijan to Turkey. Turkey is building an interconnector pipeline to Greece, an important step in bringing Caspian natural gas to Europe via Turkey.

====Telecommunications====
[[File:Turk map.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Turkey map.]]
Parliament enacted legislation separating telecommunications policy and regulatory functions in January 2000, by establishing an independent regulatory body, the Telecommunication Authority. The Authority is responsible for issuing licenses, supervising operators, and taking necessary technical measures against violations of the rules. Most regulatory functions of the Transport Ministry were transferred to the Authority, and the regulator is slowly gaining competence and independence. The long-expected privatization of the state-owned telecommunications company was accomplished by the sale of 55% of Turk Telekom to the Saudi-owned Oger Group in November 2005. With liberalization and growth in the economy, there is growing competition for Internet provision, but Turk Telekom remains the sole provider of ADSL wide band Internet.

====Environment====
[[File:TurkishForest.jpg|thumb|left|280px|Turkish forest.]]
With the establishment of the Environment Ministry in 1991, Turkey began to make significant progress addressing its most pressing environmental problems. The most dramatic improvements were significant reductions of air pollution in Istanbul and Ankara. However, progress has been slow on the remaining—and serious—environmental challenges facing Turkey.

In 2003, the Ministry of Environment was merged with the Forestry Ministry. With its goal to join the EU, Turkey has made commendable progress in updating and modernizing its environmental legislation. However, environmental concerns are not fully integrated into public decision-making and enforcement can be weak. Turkey faces a backlog of environmental problems, requiring enormous outlays for infrastructure. The most pressing needs are for water treatment plants, wastewater treatment facilities, solid waste management, and conservation of biodiversity. The discovery of a number of chemical waste sites in 2006 has highlighted weakness in environmental law and oversight.
{{Clear}}

====Transportation====
The Turkish Government gives a special priority to major infrastructure projects, especially in the transport sector. The government is in the process of building new airports and highways, thanks to an increased public investment budget. The government will realize many of these projects by utilizing the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.

== See also ==
[[File:Blue mosque Istanbul Turkey.jpg|thumb|The Blue Mosque, Istanbul.]]
*[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]]
*[[Battle of Adrianople]]
*[[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]]
*[[Oriental art]]
*[[Göbekli Tepe]]
*[[Catal Huyuk|Çatalhöyük]]
{{Clear}}

== External links ==
*[http://bertschlossberg.blogspot.com/ A Turkish Delight: they think so in Israel also!]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{| style="width: 100%; background:transparent; border: 2px solid #000099;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="1"
!colspan=2 style="width: 100%; text-align: center; background-color: #000088; color: white; "|'''Copyright Details'''
|-
!style="background-color: #000088; color:white;"|License:
|style=" background-color: none;"| This work is in the [[Public Domain]] in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the U.S. Code
|-
!style=" background-color: #000088; color:white;"|Source:
|style="background-color: none;border-top: 2px solid black"| File available from the {{{1|[[United States Federal Government]] [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3432.htm]}}}.
|}

{{Asian Countries}}

[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:NATO Members]]
[[Category:Turkey]]
[[Category:Muslim-Majority Countries]]

Atheism debates

2022-02-07T21:54:54Z

Andrewlee: /* Kai Nielsen versus J.P. Moreland debate */

[[File:Richard Dawkins - March 2005.jpg|alt=Richard Dawkins|thumbnail|200px|right|The [[Oxford University]] Professor [[Daniel Came]] wrote to the [[New Atheism|new atheist]] and [[evolution]]ist [[Richard Dawkins]]:: "The absence of a debate with the foremost [[Christian apologetics|apologist]] for [[Christianity|Christian]] [[theism]] is a glaring omission on your [[Curriculum vitae|CV]] and is of course apt to be interpreted as cowardice on your part."<ref name="cowardice">Ross, Tim (May 14, 2011). [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8511931/Richard-Dawkins-accused-of-cowardice-for-refusing-to-debate-existence-of-God.html "Richard Dawkins accused of cowardice for refusing to debate existence of God"]. The Daily Telegraph website. Retrieved July 25, 2014. See ''[[Daily Telegraph]]''</ref>]]
As far as '''[[atheism]] debates''', the majority of the public [[debate]]s are [[Atheism vs. Christianity debates]] (although there have been a few [[Atheism vs. Islam debates]]).

Although atheists commonly claim there are reasonable arguments for [[atheism]], the quality of atheist debate has been quite poor from the proponents of atheism.

Please see:

*[[Atheism vs. Christianity debates]]

*[[Rebuttals to atheist arguments]]

*[[Responding to atheists]]

*[[Atheist apologetics]]

== Notable cases of prominent atheists being reluctant to debate ==
[[File:Richard dawkins lecture.jpg|alt=Richard Dawkins|thumbnail|150px|right|[[Richard Dawkins]] ]]
''See also:'' [[Atheism and cowardice]] and [[Atheism vs. Christianity]] and [[Atheist fear of conservative Christians]]

Beginning in the latter part of the 20th century, there were a number of notable instances of prominent atheists being reluctant to debate (see: [[Atheism and cowardice]]).

In the 21st century, the cowardice associated with atheism has become so obvious that it is making newspaper headlines.<ref>Multiple references:
*Green, Lauren (August 19, 2011). [https://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/08/19/christian-pastor-atheists-debates/?test=latestnews "Christian philosopher William Lane Craig is ready to debate, but finds few challengers"]. FoxNews.com. Retrieved on July 30, 2014.
*Ross, Tim (May 14, 2011). [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8511931/Richard-Dawkins-accused-of-cowardice-for-refusing-to-debate-existence-of-God.html "[[Richard Dawkins]] accused of cowardice for refusing to debate existence of God"]. The Daily Telegraph website. Retrieved July 25, 2014. See [[Daily Telegraph]]</ref> On May 14, 2011, the [[Great Britain|British]] newspaper ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' published a news story entitled ''Richard Dawkins accused of cowardice for refusing to debate existence of [[God]]''.<ref name="cowardice"/> In ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' article Dr. [[Daniel Came]], a member of the Faculty of [[Philosophy]] at [[Oxford University]] was quoted as writing to fellow atheist Richard Dawkins concerning his refusal to debate Dr. [[William Lane Craig]], "The absence of a debate with the foremost [[Christian apologetics|apologist]] for [[Christianity|Christian]] [[theism]] is a glaring omission on your [[Curriculum vitae|CV]] and is of course apt to be interpreted as cowardice on your part."<ref name="cowardice"/>

A majority of the most prominent and vocal defenders of the naturalistic [[evolution]]ary position since [[World War II]] have been atheists.<ref>Multiple references:
*Batten, Don (December 1997). [http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/737/ "A ''Who’s Who'' of evolutionists"]. ''Creation'', vol 20, no. 1, p. 32. Retrieved from Creation.com [Creation Ministries International] on May 15, 2015. Don Batten
*Sarfati, Jonathan, Ph. D. (1999). [http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/3830 "Chapter 1: Facts and bias"]. ''Refuting Evolution''. Retrieved from Creation.com [Creation Ministries International] on May 15, 2015. See [[Jonathan Sarfati]]</ref> After doing poorly in a series of debates in the the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, evolutionists are generally reluctant to debate (see: [[Creation vs. evolution debates]]).

== Atheism vs. Christianity debates ==

''See also:'' [[Atheism vs. Christianity debates]]

[[Image:Billcraig_czvx.jpg‎‎|thumb|left|150px|[[William Lane Craig]] ]]
As far as Christianity vs. atheism debates, the most well-known debater on the Christian side of the aisle is [[William Lane Craig]]. This is due to the large number of Christian vs. [[atheism]] debates he has engage in and the quality of his debate performances.<ref name="commonsenseatheism.com">[http://commonsenseatheism.com/?p=392 William Lane Craig’s Debates (Reviews)]</ref>

The atheist [[Sam Harris]] quipped about William Lane Craig that he was "The one Christian apologist who seems to have put the fear of God into many of my fellow atheists".<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpM0D-MHyzs William Lane Craig Puts the Fear of God in Atheists], video clip of the [[William Lane Craig vs. Sam Harris debate]]</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqaHXKLRKzg The God Debate II: Harris vs. Craig], University of Notre Dame YouTube channel</ref>

The atheist [[Luke Muehlhauser]] wrote about Craig:
{{Cquote|William Lane Craig is a prolific Christian philosopher, apologist, author, and public debater. He is the best debater – on any topic – that I’ve ever heard. As far as I can tell, he has won nearly all his debates with atheists. When debating him, atheists have consistently failed to put forward solid arguments, and consistently failed to point out the flaws in Craig’s arguments.

I’m not the only one who thinks Craig has won nearly all his debates. For some atheists, it [http://www.jcnot4me.com/Items/contra_craig/contra_craig.htm is rather maddening].

Craig is a skilled debater, an encyclopedia of facts and quotes, and a careful rhetorician. If you make a logical mistake, Craig knows exactly how to skewer you for it (and for this, I respect him). He holds prepared and persuasive responses to everything an atheist might say, and atheists usually fail to clearly point out the logical flaws in what Craig has to say. Also, Craig does a great job of summarizing the points and counterpoints that have been raised during a debate, and presents them in a way to show he has decisively won. His opponents are never that organized or clear.

This is especially embarrassing for atheists because Craig’s arguments and debates are easily available, and he uses the same arguments all the time.<ref name="commonsenseatheism.com">[http://commonsenseatheism.com/?p=392 William Lane Craig’s Debates (Reviews)]</ref>}}

'''William Lane Craig debates:'''

*[http://www.reasonablefaith.org/media/debates Sampling of William Lane Craig debates]

*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBGU3M7jIGE&list=PLnXxTTWioQa0pChmOrGv8gjYu6ZmjRFyK William Lane Craig video debates - playlist]

*[[William Lane Craig vs. Sam Harris debate]]

*[[William Lane Craig vs. Christopher Hitchens debate]]

*[[William Lane Craig vs. Frank Zindler debate]]

== Greg Bahnsen vs. Gordon Stein debate ==

[[Image:Bahnsen.jpg‎|thumb|right|150px|Dr. [[Greg Bahnsen]] became known as "the man atheists fear most" due to [[Michael Martin]]'s cancellation of their scheduled debate.<ref name="Bahsen at the Stein debate">[http://www.frame-poythress.org/frame_articles/Bahnsen.htm Bahsen at the Stein debate] by John Frame</ref><ref>[http://simpleapologetics.com/thegreatdebate.html The Great Debate: Greg Bahnsen vs Gordon Stein]</ref>]]
In 1985, the Christian apologist [[Greg Bahnsen]] and the atheist [[Gordon Stein]] had a debate at the University of California, Irvine regarding the positions of atheism and theism. Bahnsen was particularly known for his Christian [[presuppositional apologetics]].

In debates with atheists, presuppositional apologists will frequently ask their debate opponents the foundations/rationale of their various assumptions, beliefs and assertions and show logical inconsistencies in the opponents worldview. In the Bahnsen-Stein debate, one of the key moments of the debate was when Stein was asked to account for the existence of the laws of logic in an [[atheist worldview]] (see: [[Atheism and logic]]),<ref>[http://veritasdomain.wordpress.com/2006/12/05/greg-bahnsen-vs-gordon-stein-the-great-debate/ "The Great Debate: Does God Exist?"] or [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLZdOGCE5KQ The Great Debate: Does God Exist?] (YouTube video) - Dr. [[Greg Bahnsen]] versus Dr. Gordon Stein - Audio of a formal debate between Christian Greg Bahnsen and skeptic Gordon Stein at the University of California, Irvine.</ref>

[[John Frame]] wrote regarding the debate in which Dr. Bahnsen used the [[transcendental argument for the existence of God]] that "In the end, Stein walked and talked like a broken man."<ref name="Bahsen at the Stein debate"/>

The Greg Bahnsen-Gordon Stein debate was recorded and transcribed and was dubbed "The Great Debate".<ref>[http://www.bellevuechristian.org/faculty/dribera/htdocs/PDFs/Apol_Bahnsen_Stein_Debate_Transcript.pdf The Great Debate: Does God Exist? Dr. Greg Bahnsen versus Dr. Gordon Stein]</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLZdOGCE5KQ The Great Debate: Does God Exist? Dr. Greg Bahnsen versus Dr. Gordon Stein]</ref>
=== Greg Bahnsen and Michael Martin ===

Greg Bahnsen became known as the "man atheists fear most".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080102084144/http://mywebpages.comcast.net/webpages54/ap/biobahn.html "A brief biography of Greg Bahnsen"] (2003). Applied Presuppositionalism website. Retrieved from January 2, 2008 archive at Internet Archive on May 14, 2015.</ref>
This is because [[Harvard]]-educated [[Michael Martin|Dr. Michael Martin]] was scheduled to debate Bahnsen but pulled out of the debate at the "eleventh hour".
A [[Press Release Regarding Michael Martin Pulling Out of Martin-Bahnsen Debate|press release at the time]] said that Dr. Martin offered ruses on why he pulled out and didn't want the scheduled debate recorded but the real reason was that "...Michael Martin is afraid that he will be publicly humiliated just as his friend and fellow atheist, Dr. [[Gordon Stein]], was...".

Martin later released his [[transcendental argument for the non-existence of God]] (TANG) in 1996 which was rebutted by Christian apologists.<ref>Walsh, Ed (2007). [http://www.reformed.org/apologetics/index.html?mainframe=/apologetics/martin_TAG.html "Responses to atheist philosopher Michael Martin"]. Center for Reformed Theology and Apologetics website. Retrieved on May 14, 2015.</ref>

{{See also|Press release after Michael Martin pulled out of Martin-Bahnsen debate|l1=Bahnson-Martin debate press release}}

== Gary Habermas vs. atheist Antony Flew debate ==

One of the most prominent Christian apologists concerning the [[resurrection of Jesus Christ]] is [[Gary Habermas]].<ref>
*[http://www.garyhabermas.com/articles/dialog_rexperience/dialog_rexperiences.htm Gary Habermas articles on the resurrection]
*[http://www.tektonics.org/books/rezbooks.php Review of Habermas' book on the resurrection]
*[http://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/Ted_Hildebrandt/NTeSources/NTArticles/CTR-NT/Habermas-Resurrection1-CTR.pdf Article on the resurrection of Jesus Christ]
*[http://www.garyhabermas.com/articles/crj_explainingaway/crj_explainingaway.htm Gary Habermas on attempts to explain away the resurrection of Jesus Christ]</ref>

Dr. Habermas had a debate against the atheist philosopher [[Antony Flew]] regarding the resurrection which was chronicled in the work ''Did Jesus Rise from the Dead? The Resurrection Debate'' and the debate had a panel of debate judges. J. Hampton Keathley, III, Th.M. in his essay ''Evidences for the Resurrection'' wrote: "The decision of the judges were as follows. The panel of philosophers judging content cast four votes for Habermas who argued for the fact of the resurrection, none for Flew, and one draw. The panel of professional debate judges voted three to two, also in favor of Habermas, this time regarding the method of argumentation technique.".<ref>http://www.bible.org/page.asp?page_id=639</ref>

Flew later became a [[deism|deist]]. Flew abandonment of atheism after being one of its foremost proponents received a lot of public attention.

== Christopher Hitchens' debate against William Lane Craig ==

''See also:'' [[William Lane Craig vs. Christopher Hitchens debate]]

[[Christopher Hitchens]] debated William Lane Craig at Biola University in 2009 in a videotaped debate.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KBx4vvlbZ8 Christopher Hitchens vs William Lane Craig - Does God Exist - 2009].</ref> The atheist Luke Muehlhauser wrote concerning the debate: "The debate went exactly as I expected. Craig was flawless and unstoppable. Hitchens was rambling and incoherent, with the occasional rhetorical jab. Frankly, Craig spanked Hitchens like a foolish child."<ref>[http://commonsenseatheism.com/?p=1230#sthash.mPNNrzlt.dpuf The Craig-Hitchens Debate] by Luke Muehlhauser on April 4, 2009 in Debates,Reviews,William Lane Craig</ref>

== A.C. Grayling vs. Rabbi Daniel Rowe debate ==
[[File:AC Grayling.jpg|thumbnail|200px|right|[[A.C. Grayling]] ]]
''See also:'' [[A.C. Grayling vs. Rabbi Daniel Rowe debate]] and [[Atheism vs. Judaism]]

The atheist [[A.C. Grayling]] is a British philosopher. He is commonly called the fifth horseman of the [[New Atheism]] movement. He debated Rabbi [[Daniel Rowe]] about the existence of God.

According to Dr. Michael Egnor, "Rowe devastated Grayling."<ref name="evolutionnews.org">[http://www.evolutionnews.org/2016/06/fellow_atheist_102948.html Fellow Atheist Dismayed at A.C. Grayling's Debate Performance Versus Rabbi Rowe]</ref>

Atheist [[Jerry Coyne]] said of the debate: "I have to admit to finding the prospect of an orthodox rabbi holding his own in a debate with Dr. Grayling on God's existence rather disheartening, but I'm afraid that's exactly what went down the other night in London."<ref name="evolutionnews.org">[http://www.evolutionnews.org/2016/06/fellow_atheist_102948.html Fellow Atheist Dismayed at A.C. Grayling's Debate Performance Versus Rabbi Rowe]</ref>

==Creation scientists tend to win the creation-evolution debates==
[[File:Safarti3.jpg|alt=evolutionary theory opponent|thumb|200px|right|[[Jonathan Sarfati]] is a scientists on the staff of [[Creation Ministries International]]. ]]
''See also:'' [[Creation vs. evolution debates]]

In 2010, the worldwide atheist community was challenged to a debate by [[Creation Ministries International]] as prominent atheists were speaking at a 2010 global atheist convention in [[Australia]].<ref name="truefree">Ammi, Ken (May 2010). [http://www.truefreethinker.com/articles/richard-dawkins-cowardly-clown "Richard Dawkins the cowardly clown"]. True Freethinker. Retrieved on July 30, 2014.</ref> Richard Dawkins, [[PZ Myers]] and other prominent atheists refused to debate Creation Ministries International.<ref name="truefree"/>

As noted above, a majority of the most prominent and vocal defenders of the naturalistic [[evolution]]ary position since [[World War II]] have been atheists.<ref>Multiple references:
*Batten, Don (December 1997). [http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/737/ "A ''Who’s Who'' of evolutionists"]. ''Creation'', vol 20, no. 1, p. 32. Retrieved from Creation.com [Creation Ministries International] on May 15, 2015. Don Batten
*Sarfati, Jonathan, Ph. D. (1999). [http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/3830 "Chapter 1: Facts and bias"]. ''Refuting Evolution''. Retrieved from Creation.com [Creation Ministries International] on May 15, 2015. See [[Jonathan Sarfati]]</ref> Creation scientists tend to win the Creation-Evolution debates and many have been held since the 1970s particularly in the [[United States]].<ref name="AnkerFraser">Multiple references:
*Ankerberg, John, and Weldon, John (1998). [http://www.ankerberg.com/Articles/science/SC0104W1E.htm "Truth in advertising: damaging the cause of science"]. ''Darwin's Leap of Faith'' (Harvest House). Retrieved from The John Ankenberg Show website on May 15, 2015.
*Fraser, William A. (2003). [https://web.archive.org/web/20091024005313/http://members.shaw.ca/mark.64/hcib/whowins.html "Who wins the debates?"] Mark64's webpage. Retrieved from October 24, 2009 archive at Internet Archive on May 15, 2015.</ref>

In August 1979, [[Henry Morris|Dr. Henry Morris]] reported in an [[Institute for Creation Research]] letter the following: “By now, practically every leading evolutionary scientist in this country has declined one or more invitations to a scientific debate on creation/evolution.”<ref>Fraser, William A. (2003). [https://web.archive.org/web/20091024005313/http://members.shaw.ca/mark.64/hcib/whowins.html "Who wins the debates?"] Mark64's webpage. Retrieved from October 24, 2009 archive at Internet Archive on May 15, 2015.</ref> Morris also said regarding the creation scientist [[Duane Gish]] (who had over 300 formal debates): “At least in our judgment and that of most in the audiences, he always wins.”<ref>Ankerberg, John, and Weldon, John (1998). [http://www.ankerberg.com/Articles/science/SC1200W1.htm "Voices for evolution"]. ''Darwin's Leap of Faith'' (Harvest House). Retrieved from the John Ankerberg show website on May 15, 2015.</ref>
Generally speaking, leading evolutionists generally no longer debate creation scientists because creation scientists tend to win the creation vs. evolution debates (see: [[Creation vs. evolution debates]]).<ref>Morris, Henry, Ph. D. (1996). [https://www.icr.org/article/811/ "Reason or rhetoric"]. ''Acts and Facts'', vol. 25, no. 11. Retrieved from Institute for Creation Research website on May 15, 2015.</ref> In addition, the atheist and evolutionist, Richard Dawkins has shown inconsistent and deceptive behavior [[Richard Dawkins' public refusal to debate creationists|concerning his refusal creation scientists]]. In an article entitled "Are Kansas Evolutionists Afraid of a Fair Debate?" the [[Discovery Institute]] states the following:
{{cquote|Defenders of Darwin's theory of evolution typically proclaim that evidence for their theory is simply overwhelming. If they really believe that, you would think they would jump at a chance to publicly explain some of that overwhelming evidence to the public. Apparently not.<ref>West, John G. (February 23, 2005). [http://www.evolutionnews.org/2005/02/are_kansas_evolutionists_afraid_of_a_fai.html "Are Kansas evolutionists afraid of a fair debate?"] Evolution News and Views. Retrieved on May 15, 2015.</ref>}}
[[Image:PH2006022801720.jpg‎|right|thumb|150px|[[Henry Morris]]]]
In 1994, the arch-evolutionist Dr. [[Eugenie Scott]] made this confession concerning creation vs. evolution debates:
{{cquote|During the last six or eight months, I have received more calls about debates between creationists and evolutionists than I have encountered for a couple of years, it seems. I do not know what has inspired this latest outbreak, but I am not sure it is doing much to improve science education.

Why do I say this? Sure, there are examples of "good" debates where a well-prepared evolution supporter got the best of a creationist, but I can tell you after many years in this business that they are few and far between. Most of the time a well-meaning evolutionist accepts a debate challenge (usually "to defend good science" or for some other worthy goal), reads a bunch of creationist literature, makes up a lecture explaining Darwinian gradualism, and can't figure out why at the end of the debate so many individuals are clustered around his opponent, congratulating him on having done such a good job of routing evolution—and why his friends are too busy to go out for a beer after the debate.<ref>Scott, Eugenie C. (1994). [http://www.skepticfiles.org/evo2/credebec.htm "Debates and the Globetrotters"]. Skeptic Tank Text Archive File website/Evolution. Retrieved on May 15, 2015.</ref>}}

In August 2003 the [[Creation Research Society]] published some interesting material regarding their correspondence with Richard Dawkins regarding a creation-evolution debate in which Richard Dawkins participated in as a debater.<ref name="creatmat">Humber, Paul G., M. S. (July/August 2003). [http://www.creationresearch.org/creation_matters/pdf/2003/cm08_04_rp.PDF "Debating Dawkins"]. ''Creation Matters'', vol. 8, no. 4. Retrieved from April 15, 2014 Creation Research Society website archive at Internet Archive on May 15, 2015.</ref> The Creation Research Society stated regarding the debate the following:
{{cquote|Despite Dr. Dawkins’ plea, there were apparently 115 votes for the creation position (more than 37%). This was done near Darwin’s turf. Imagine flat-earthers going to NASA and convincing over 37% of the scientists there that the earth is flat. Maybe creation science is not as closely akin to flat-earthism as Dr. Dawkins supposes (see his Free Inquiry article).<ref name="creatmat"/>}}

== Richard Dawkins and recent debates ==

''See also:'' [[Richard Dawkins and debate]]

===Atheist Richard Dawkins lost a debate to a rabbi and then claimed debate never took place===
[[File:Shmuley Boteach.jpg|thumbnail|200px|right|[[Shmuley Boteach]] ]]
''For more information please see'': [[Richard Dawkins and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach]]

Rabbi [[Shmuley Boteach]] was named the ''London Times'' Preacher of the Year 2000 and is the author of 20 books.<ref>Boteach, Shmuley (May 2008). [http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Judaism/2008/05/Richard-Dawkins-Shameful-Attack.aspx "Richard Dawkins' shameful attack"]. Beliefnet/Faith/Judaism. Retrieved on May 15, 2015.</ref> Recently Rabbi Shmuley Boteach reported that college student audience [http://www.conservapedia.com/Richard_Dawkins#Richard_Dawkins_Lost_a_Debate_to_a_Rabbi_and_then_Claimed_the_Debate_Never_Took_Placea voted that he won a debate] between himself and Richard Dawkins and then Dawkins claimed the debate never took place. (the debate later turned out to be videotaped).
<ref>Multiple references:
*Boteach, Shmuley (May 2008). [http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Judaism/2008/05/Richard-Dawkins-Shameful-Attack.aspx "Richard Dawkins' shameful attack"]. Beliefnet/Faith/Judaism. Retrieved on May 15, 2015.
*[https://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=61565 "Rabbi reveals video of debate that "didn't happen"] (April 14, 2008). WorldNetDaily. Retrieved on May 15, 2015.</ref>

A video of the debate that Dawkins lost to Rabbi Shmuley Boteach was sold at Rabbi Schely Boteach's website.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071101052456/http://anhonestdebate.com/2007/09/03/shmuley-boteach-vs-richard-dawkins/ Shmuley Boteach vs. Richard Dawkins]</ref>

=== Refusal of Richard Dawkins to debate Christian apologist Dinesh D'Souza===

''For more information please see'': [[Richard Dawkins and Dinesh D'Souza]]

Christian author [[Dinesh D'Souza]] wrote that Richard Dawkins' recent refusals to debate him and other knowledgeable Christian apologists was bizarre.<ref name="nodebate">Multiple references:
*Porter, Dan (July 21, 2008). [http://www.one-episcopalian-on-faith.com/2008/07/richard-dawkins.html "Richard Dawkins on the run: 'I find your behavior extremely bizarre...you duck and dodge and run away,' says Dinesh D'Souza"]. God, Christ: Questions & Faith website. Retrieved on May 15, 2015.
*D'Souza, Dinesh (July 28, 2008). [https://townhall.com/columnists/DineshDSouza/2008/07/28/countering_richard_dawkins_on_al-jazeera "Countering Richard Dawkins on Al-Jazeera"]. Townhall.com. Retrieved on May 15, 2015.
*D'Souza, Dinesh (November 15, 2007). [http://www.tothesource.org/11_13_2007/11_13_2007.htm "To debate or not to debate: That is the question"]. To the Source website. Retrieved on May 15, 2015.</ref> Dinesh D'Souza also accused Dawkins of chasing down weak opponents to debate him in situations where Dawkins controls the editing.<ref name="nodebate"/>

=== Christian apologist Dr. William Lane Craig is reported to have called Dawkins a coward ===

Dr. William Lane Craig is one of Christianity's leading defenders and many individuals over the years have attempted to arrange a debate between Dr. Craig and Richard Dawkins. Richard Dawkins has offered various ruses on why he will not debate William Lane Craig, including claiming comments made by Craig about the Caananites, which Dr. Craig supporters have shown were inconsistent and merely a dodge to avoid debating one of Christianity's strongest advocates.<ref>Hayden, Clive (March 6, 2010). [http://www.uncommondescent.com/evolution/william-lane-craig-is-avoided-by-richard-dawkins/ "William Lane Craig is avoided by Richard Dawkins"]. Uncommon Descent website. Retrieved on May 15, 2015.</ref>

Christian apologist Dr. Victor Reppert reported that Dr. William Lane Craig told him in a private email that Richard Dawkins is a coward for refusing to debate him.<ref>Reppert, Victor (January 5, 2007). [http://dangerousidea.blogspot.com/2007/01/dawkins-ducks-craig.html "Dawkins ducks Craig"]. dangerous idea website. Retrieved on May 15, 2015.</ref> Currently, there is a petition requesting Richard Dawkins to debate Christian apologist William Lane Craig.<ref>[http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/dawkinscraigdebate/ "Richard Dawkins and William Craig should debate each other"] (April 2009). iPetitions website. Retrieved on May 15, 2015.</ref>

=== Various ruses of Richard Dawkins concerning his alleged refusal to debate creationists ===
Richard Dawkins has a [[Richard Dawkins' public refusal to debate creationists|number of ruses concerning his alleged refusal to debate creationists]]. Evolutionists' inconsistency concerning debating creationists was commented on by the Christian apologetic website [[True Free Thinker]] which declared: "Interestingly enough, having noted that since some atheists refuse to debate “creationists” but then go on to debate some of those people but not others, it is clear that they are, in reality, being selective and making excuses for absconding from difficulties..."<ref>Ammi, Ken (2010 or bef.). [http://www.truefreethinker.com/articles/speaking-assiduous-absconders%E2%80%A6yet-again-vox-day-challenges-pz-myers-debate "Speaking of assiduous absconders...yet again, Vox Day challenges PZ Meyers to Debate"]. True Freethinker. Retrieved on May 15, 2015.</ref>

== PZ Myers refusal to debate Vox Day ==
[[File:PzMyers2.jpg|thumbnail|201px|right|[[PZ Myers]]
 
 
(photo obtained from [https://www.flickr.com/photos/reuvenim/4426093513/ Flickr], see [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/deed.en license agreement]) ]]
On September 4, 2011, [[Vox Day]] wrote concerning the [[evolution]]ist and atheist [[PZ Myers]]:
{{cquote|I have heard from numerous atheists who find his intellectual cowardice to be more than a little troubling given his usual tendency to create conflict rather than to avoid it. And he has handed an out to every single individual he ever hopes to challenge in the future. Why should they debate a nobody like him, a clown who isn't even a bigshot in his own field?

As for the PZ Myers Memorial Debate, we are still in search of an atheist to champion the argument that the logic and evidence for the nonexistence of gods is stronger than [[Logical arguments for the existence of God|the logic and evidence for the existence of gods]]. It is certainly informative to see how many atheists do not appear to believe they are able to effectively make this case; in light of this, many Christians may find this to be a useful tactical approach when confronted by aggressive atheists in the future. This tends to confirm my previous observations that while atheists like to challenge the beliefs of others, they are very ill-prepared, and in [[Atheology#Atheology vs. theism debates|many cases downright unwilling]], to defend their own. So, if you want to shut them up, simply go on the attack. [[Atheism and cowardice|They'll run away with alacrity]].<ref>[http://voxday.blogspot.com/2011/09/he-still-runs-like-girl.html "Running, running"]. Vox Populi website. Retrieved on May 15, 2015.</ref>}}

On August 28, 2011, Vox Day declared concerning Myers:
{{cquote|What you clearly do not understand is that, [http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2011/05/we_arent_angry_were_effective.php by his own admission], PZ relies heavily upon emotional arguments rather than logical ones when he cannot simply appeal to an established scientific consensus. ''"I'll also cop to the obvious fact that, knowing that reason will not get through their skills, I'm happy to use emotional arguments as well. Passion is persuasive."'' His tendency to rely upon emotional rhetoric and passion rather than reason is precisely why he is afraid to debate people who rely primarily upon logic, because his ability to present reason-based arguments is relatively low. His ability to utilize reason is simply not equal to the skill of others who make use of it more effectively. PZ is without question an effective preacher to the godless choir of science fetishists, but he is remarkably unskilled at presenting convincing arguments, let alone conclusive ones, to those who do not already agree with him. Unlike you, he knows he is not an effective evangelist.<ref>Day, Vox (August 28, 2011). [http://voxday.blogspot.com/2011/08/can-one-dodge-dodger.html "Can one dodge a dodger?"] Vox Populi website. Retrieved on May 15, 2015.</ref>}}

==Kai Nielsen versus J.P. Moreland debate==

In regards to atheism and debate, there was a debate between atheist philosopher [[Kai Nielsen]] and Christian theist philsopher J.P. Moreland. [[Internet Infidels]] states the following regarding J.P. Moreland's book ''Does God Exist?'' which mentions the debate:
{{cquote|I agree completely with the conclusion of Craig's flow of the debate, that Moreland won the debate. In fact, Moreland's victory in the debate was so decisive I am left wishing that Keith Parsons had been Moreland's opponent; I wonder if Nielsen even took the debate seriously. In light of this, I am baffled why a secular humanist publisher like Prometheus Books would choose to publish this particular debate, given how pathetic Nielsen's performance truly was. ([[Jeffery Jay Lowder]])<ref>Day, Donn R. (October 2007 or bef.). [http://www.thedivineconspiracy.org/athart3.htm "Atheism: Etymology".] The Divine Conspiracy website. Retrieved on May 15, 2015.</ref>}}

== Sam Harris vs. William Lane Craig debate ==

''See also:'' [[Atheism and morality]] and [[William Lane Craig vs. Sam Harris debate]]

In 2011, Sam Harris debated the Christian apologist and philosopher William Lane Craig at the [[University of Notre Dame]] on the topic of morality and the debate was the proposition "Is Good From God?".<ref>[The God Debate II: Harris vs. Craig], Notre Dame University YouTube channel, Uploaded on Apr 12, 2011</ref><ref name="thinkingmatters.org.nz">[http://thinkingmatters.org.nz/2011/04/how-william-lane-craig-thrashed-sam-harris-like-a-naughty-puppy/ How William Lane Craig thrashed Sam Harris like a naughty puppy], Thinking Matters (New Zealand Christian Apologetics Ministry), April 9, 2011</ref>

=== Reviews of the debate ===

==== Review by the New Zealand Christian apologetics ministry Thinking Matters ====
[[File:Dr. William Lane Craig.jpg‎‎|thumb|150px|William Lane Craig]]
The New Zealand Christian apologetics ministry Thinking Matters said of the Sam Harris vs. William Lane Craig debate:
{{cquote|Craig brought a great many cogent objections to bear against Harris’s view...

Craig started by drawing the audience’s attention to how Harris was confusing moral [[ontology]] with moral [[semantics]]: confusing the basis or the foundation for moral values with the meaning of moral terms.

...Craig brought down the hammer and completely crushed Harris for the rest of the debate, by not only showing that Harris wasn’t engaging with the topic (he was equivocating between moral [[epistemology]] and ontology) but that his entire ethical system was necessarily false, by his own admission...

“A less moral framework is atheism,” started Craig with an exasperated laugh, and then went on to point out that Harris had said nothing to defend an atheistic foundation for morality, nor to refute Craig’s own arguments. To demonstrate how poorly Harris understood Christianity, and how irrelevant his “arguments” were, Craig quipped, in regards to Harris’s claim that the goal on theism is to avoid hell, “Belief in God isn’t some kind of fire insurance.” He then went on to list a number of other ways in which the red herrings that Harris had laid across the path were irrelevant—which was fair enough since there wasn’t much else to say.<ref name="thinkingmatters.org.nz">[http://thinkingmatters.org.nz/2011/04/how-william-lane-craig-thrashed-sam-harris-like-a-naughty-puppy/ How William Lane Craig thrashed Sam Harris like a naughty puppy], Thinking Matters (New Zealand Christian Apologetics Ministry), April 9, 2011</ref>}}

Other reviews by Christians:

*[http://rightreason.org/2011/debate-review-william-lane-craig-and-sam-harris/ Debate Review: William Lane Craig and Sam Harris]

*[http://www.randyeverist.com/2011/04/review-of-craig-vs-harris-debate.html Review of Craig vs. Harris Debate] by Randy Ecerest

*[http://jwwartick.com/2011/04/08/harris-craig/ Sam Harris vs. William Lane Craig: Thoughts and Links] by J.W. Wartick

==== Review of the debate by the atheist Luke Muehlhauser at Common Sense Atheism ====

The atheist Luke Muehlhauser reviewed the debate at the atheist blog ''Common Sense Atheism''. Muehlhauser said of the debate, "As usual, Craig’s superior framing, scholarship and debate skills ‘won’ the debate for him."<ref>[http://commonsenseatheism.com/?p=15243 Sam Harris vs. William Lane Craig debate review (part 3)] by Luke Muehlhauser, Common Sense Atheism, oApril 17, 2011</ref>

==Frank Zindler versus Dr. William Craig debate==

In a profile of contributors featured on an amateur evolutionist's website, the website [[TrueOrigin]] states the following regarding the debate between atheist [[Frank Zindler]] and Christian philosopher Dr. William Lane Craig:
{{cquote|Frank Zindler

A leading light in the [[American Atheists]]. Isn’t it amazing how so many atheists love [[Theory of evolution|evolution]] and appear to be threatened by the massive scientific evidence for [[Creation Science|creation]]? Zindler took the atheism side in an Atheism v. Christianity debate in front of 7,500 people at Willow Creek Community Church, USA. His opponent, Dr William Lane Craig, tore his ignorant arguments to shreds so effectively that many atheists in the audience realised that Zindler had lost the debate. It was presumably to this debate that John Snowden was alluding when he wrote that a representative of the American Atheists, whom he used to support, lost a public debate to a “fundamentalist” (''Skeptic'' 18(3), 1998).<ref>Sarfati, Jonathan and Creation Ministries International (1999). [http://www.trueorigin.org/noaig.asp "A critique of John Stear's 'No Answers in Genesis' website"]. The True.Origin Archive website. Retrieved on May 15, 2015.</ref>}}

==Madalyn Murray O'Hair debate with Dr. Walter Martin ==

[[Madalyn Murray O'Hair]], founder of [[American Atheists]], did poorly in her debate with Dr. [[Walter Martin]]<ref name="Martin">Martin, Walter and O'Hair, Madalyn Murray (1968). [http://defendingcontending.com/2011/12/11/debate-walter-martin-vs-madalyn-murray-ohair-2/ "Debate: Walter Martin vs Madalyn Murray O’Hair."] MP3 audio. Retrieved from Defending Contending on July 30, 2014.</ref> For example, when she claimed [[Atheism and the Bible|there were supposedly were contradictions in the Bible]], Dr. Martin asked her to provide an example of one and Ms. O'Hair did not and could not offer even an alleged example of a Bible contradiction.<ref name="Martin"/> In addition, Ms. O'Hair was ill-prepared in terms of defending against the issue of [[atheism and mass murder]].<ref name="Martin"/>

== Madalyn Murray O'Hair debate with Dr. Duane Gish ==

The [[creationism|creationist]] Dr. [[Duane Gish]] once debated Madalyn Murray O'Hair and after the debate, Gish recounted that O'Hair said to him "You frighten me!", which Gish believed was because "I didn’t thump the Bible and tell her she was going to Hell, but I approached her in her own element — secular scientific evidence."<ref>[https://creation.com/my-mother-the-most-hated-woman-in-america My Mother: The Most Hated Woman in America] (interview with William J. Murray), by Robert Doolan. ''Creation.com''. Retrieved July 27, 2016.</ref>

== 2009 origin of life debate ==
In 2009, [[intelligent design]] proponents Dr. [[Stephen Meyer]] and Dr. [[Richard Sternberg]] debated atheist Dr. [[Michael Shermer]] and Dr. Donald Prothero concerning on the topic of the [[origin of life]].<ref name="meyer">Reese, Chris (December 7, 2009). [http://greatcloud.wordpress.com/2009/12/07/audio-of-stephen-meyer-vs-michael-shermer-debate/ "Audio of Stephen Meyer vs. Michael Shermer debate"]. Cloud of Witnesses website. Retrieved on May 15, 2015.</ref> The [[Discovery Institute]] declared concerning the debate:
{{cquote|To call the debate a massacre would be a discredit to Sitting Bull. The only thing I can say is that Shermer needs to add a point to his booklet on how to debate "[[creationism|creationists]]" — namely, leave Donald Prothero at home in his van by the river...

Some of the best points came later in the debate, when Sternberg slammed Prothero with factual put down after factual put down, citing the current literature time and again. His command of the subject matter — from population genetics to [[junk DNA]] — was so far and above beyond Shermer and Prothero's knowledge, so far above their pay grade, that it was almost painful to watch him school them point after point. As I said before, shortly you'll be able to watch the debate for yourself. But be warned, it isn't pretty.<ref>Crowther, Robert (December 1, 2009). [http://www.evolutionnews.org/2009/12/ouch_intelligent_design_guys_p.html "Ouch. Intelligent design guys put the sleeperhold on Darwin's defenders"]. Evolution News and Views website. Retrieved on May 15, 2015.</ref>}}

An audio copy of the debate has been made available to the public.<ref name="meyer"/>

== Peter Boghossian vs. Christian philosopher Tim McGrew debate ==

In 2014, the atheist philosophy instructor and author [[Peter Boghossian]] debated the Christian philosopher [[Tim McGrew]] who specializes in the area of epistemology. Boghossian performed very poorly in the debate/discussion.<ref>[http://randalrauser.com/2014/05/tim-mcgrew-gives-peter-boghossian-an-unbelievable-public-drubbing/ Tim McGrew gives Peter Boghossian an unbelievable public drubbing] by Randall Rauser</ref><ref>[https://winteryknight.com/2015/08/24/tim-mcgrew-debates-peter-boghossian-on-the-definition-of-faith/ Tim McGrew debates Peter Boghossian on the definition of faith]</ref>

=== Audio of Peter Boghossian vs. Christian philosopher Tim McGrew debate ===

*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dux5hiYEpaw Peter Boghossian vs Tim McGrew]

*[https://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable/Episodes/Peter-Boghossian-vs-Tim-McGrew-A-manual-for-creating-atheists Peter Boghossian vs Tim McGrew debate - A manual for creating atheists] - audio and other resources

=== Reviews of Peter Boghossian vs. Christian philosopher Tim McGrew debate ===

*[http://randalrauser.com/2014/05/tim-mcgrew-gives-peter-boghossian-an-unbelievable-public-drubbing/ Tim McGrew gives Peter Boghossian an unbelievable public drubbing] by Randall Rauser

*[https://winteryknight.com/2015/08/24/tim-mcgrew-debates-peter-boghossian-on-the-definition-of-faith/ Tim McGrew debates Peter Boghossian on the definition of faith]

== Doug Jesseph ==

In October 1997, atheist Jeffrey Jay Lowder, a founder of [[Internet Infidels]], stated that he believed that in regards to atheism and debate that "the most impressive debater to date" was [[Douglas Jesseph]].<ref>Lowder, Jeffrey Jay (October 1997). [http://www.infidels.org/infidels/newsletter/1997/october.html "How not to debate"]. ''Internet Infidels Newsletter''. Retrieved from The Secular Web/Infidels/Newsletter/1997 on May 14, 2015.</ref>

Yet, Douglas Jesseph claimed in a debate with William Lane Craig in 1996 that the [[origin of life]] had a detailed atheistic explanation(s).<ref>Jesseph, Douglas (1996). [http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/doug_jesseph/jesseph-craig/jesseph1.html "Opening statement by Doug Jesseph"]. ''The [Douglas] Jesseph-[William Lane] Craig Debate'' transcript. Transcript retrieved from The Secular Web/Library/Modern/Doug Jesseph/Jesseph Craig on May 14, 2015.</ref> In 1996, John Horgan wrote the following regarding what the highly respected origin of life researcher [[Stanley Miller]] believed to the case regarding naturalistic explanations of the origin of life: "Miller seemed unimpressed with any of the current proposals on the origin of life, referring to them as 'nonsense' or 'paper chemistry.'"<ref>Bergman, Jerry, Ph. D. (March 2000). [http://www.trueorigin.org/abio.asp "Why abiogenesis is impossible"]. ''Creation Research Science Quarterly'', vol. 36, no. 4. Retrieved from The True.Origin Archive website on May 14, 2015.</ref> In addition, in 1996, John Horgan wrote the following in ''[[Scientific American]]'': "The origin of life is a science writer's dream. It abounds with exotic scientists and exotic theories, which are never entirely abandoned or accepted, but merely go in and out of fashion."<ref>Horgan, John (1996). [http://members.iinet.net.au/~sejones/orignl01.html#orgnlfvltnndwkstlnkevl ''The End of Science: Facing the Limits of Knowledge in the Twilight of the Scientific Age''] (London: Little, Brown & Co.), p. 138. Retrieved from Stephen E. Jones website/Creation/Evolution Quotes/Origin of Life #1 on May 14, 2015.</ref>

At the atheist blog Common Sense Atheism, the atheist Luke Muehlhauser said of the Craig vs. Jesseph debate: "A very typical debate in which Craig’s opponent is not prepared for Craig’s skill, speed, or organization, and things just get worse for Jesseph as things go along and he falls further and further behind."<ref>[http://commonsenseatheism.com/?p=392 William Lane Craig’s Debates (Reviews)] by Luke Muehlhauser at Common Sense Atheism on February 7, 2009</ref>

== Atheist Samuel Porter Putnam vs. Baptist J.N. Hall debate ==

*[[Atheist Samuel Porter Putnam vs. Baptist J.N. Hall debate]]

== Atheists, debates and critical thinking ==

''See also:'' [[Atheism and critical thinking]]

Well-structured debates have cross-examination by the participants which often can stimulate critical thinking by participants and audience members. And many debates have an audience questioning period where audience members pose questions to the debaters.

In addition, ideologues who engage in uncritical thinking often are unaware of opposing arguments and actively avoid intellectually engaging with their opponents arguments.

The poor debate performances of contemporary atheists and prominent atheists dodging debates is indicative of many atheists engaging in denialism and also a lack of rigorous critical thinking on the part of many atheists (see: [[Atheism and critical thinking]]).

== Atheism vs. Islam debates ==
[[Image:Hitchens,_Stanford.jpg‎ |right|thumb|200px|[[Christopher Hitchens]] ]]
''See also:'' [[Atheism vs. Islam debates]]

There have been few atheism vs. Islam debates.

Although [[Islam]] is a major religion with many adherents, in Islamic societies tolerance for atheists is rare.<ref>[https://www.economist.com/news/international/21567059-ex-muslim-atheists-are-becoming-more-outspoken-tolerance-still-rare-no-god-not Ex-Muslim atheists are becoming more outspoken, but tolerance is still rare], ''The Economist''</ref>

In the [[Western World]], there have been a few notable public debates between atheists and Muslims, but there have not been many. The atheist [[Lawrence Krauss]] debated Muslim Hamza Tzortzis about the existence of God.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuTucfWTSgw Lawrence Krauss Vs Hamza Tzortzis]</ref> Also, the atheists Christopher Hitchens debated Muslim Tariq Ramadan and the debate topic was "Is Islam a religion of peace?".<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CGFMwtJTyE Atheism vs Islam Debate - Christopher Hitchens vs Tariq Ramadan]</ref> There have been incidences of Muslim extremists attacking critics of Islam in the [[Western World]] so many atheists may be reluctant to engage in high-profile atheism vs. Islam debates (see: [[Atheism vs. Islam debates]]).

When Muslim [[apologetics|apologists]] debate atheists about the [[Arguments for the existence of God|existence of God]], they usually employ the [[Arguments for the existence of God#Kalam cosmological argument|Kalam cosmological argument]] which is an argument for the existence of God developed in the Islamic world.

==See also==

*[[Rebuttals to atheist arguments]]
*[[Atheology]]
*[[Atheism and evidence]]
*[[Atheism vs. Christianity]]
*[[Atheism vs. theism]]
*[[Agnosticism debates]]
*[[Atheism and deception]]
*[[Richard Dawkins' inconsistent and deceptive behavior concerning debating creationists]]
*[[Richard Dawkins and debate|Instances of Richard Dawkins ducking debates]]
*[[Resources for leaving atheism and becoming a Christian]]

==External links==

*[http://commonsenseatheism.com/?p=50 Atheism vs. Theism debates]

*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8MzPmkNsgU&list=PLWPVWmmzyayzQkA_JpU1VtBOBdce80MKz&index=3 Atheism debates - videos]

*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBGU3M7jIGE&list=PLnXxTTWioQa0pChmOrGv8gjYu6ZmjRFyK William Lane Craig debates - videos]

{{Nb Atheism}}

== Notes ==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Atheism]]
[[Category:Debate]]

Larry Flynt

2022-02-07T21:49:26Z

Andrewlee:

{{Infobox officeholder
|name=Larry Flynt
|image=Larry Flynt Wheelchair.jpg
|birth_date=November 1, 1942
|birth_place=Lakeville, Kentucky
|death_date=February 10, 2021 (aged 78)
|death_place=Los Angeles, California
|religion=Atheism
|spouse=Elizabeth Berrios (m. 1998 - 2021)
|children=5
|alma_mater=Salyersville High School
|party=
|office=
|term_start=
|term_end=
|preceded=
|succeeded=
}}
'''Larry Flynt''' (November 1, 1942 – February 10, 2021) is the founder of the immoral and pornographic magazine ''Hustler''. Flynt is an [[atheism|atheist]]<ref>Flynt writes, "I have left my religious conversion behind and settled into a comfortable state of atheism": see the epilogue of Flynt and Ross</ref><ref>"I am not saying he don't believe in God. I am just saying I don't believe in God. That puts me at odds with him." ''[https://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9701/11/falwell.v.flynt/lkl.00.html Larry King Live]'', January 10, 1996</ref> and far-leftist. See also: [[Atheism and pornography]]

In 1998, Larry Flynt took out an ad in the ''[[Washington Post]]'' offering a $1 million reward for scandalous stories that could be used to smear Clinton critics as the impeachment of President [[Bill Clinton]] was looming.<ref>Robert J. Caldwell, "Scorched Earth; Clinton's allies trigger the `Doomsday Machine' against his enemies The San Diego Union-Tribune, G-4 (Jan. 17, 1999)</ref> [[Bill Clinton]] later thanked Flynt for saving his presidency.<ref>[https://observer.com/2000/08/its-poker-night-with-larry-flynt-porn-king-discourses-on-sex-gore/ It’s Poker Night With Larry Flynt! Porn King Discourses on Sex, Gore], By Andrew Goldman, ''New York Observer'', 08/28/00</ref>

In 2003, ''Arena magazine'' magazine listed Flynt as #1 on the "50 Powerful People in Porn" list.<ref>[http://www.onenewspage.us/people/ms9j0/Larry-Flynt.htm Larry Flynt - One News Page]</ref> Flynt is paralyzed from the waist down due to injuries sustained from a 1978 assassination attempt by the serial killer Joseph Paul Franklin.<ref>Flynt and Ross, pp. 170–171.</ref><ref>[http://www.onenewspage.us/people/ms9j0/Larry-Flynt.htm Larry Flynt - One News Page]</ref>

Since founding the magazine, Flynt has become an advocate of a liberal conception of [[free speech]], under which profanity and pornography are classed as "protected speech".

Flynt acquired national status when he published a satirical article defaming, in disgusting terms, preacher [[Jerry Falwell]]. Falwell sued Flynt, but lost in the [[Supreme Court]], when the [[ACLU]] defended him. The case was dramatized in the 1996 film ''The People v. Larry Flynt'', directed by [[Milos Forman]], with [[Woody Harrelson]] as the notorious publisher. Since Flynt's case, slanderous satire has been presumed acceptable as "free speech".

Flynt, a longtime [[Democrat Party]] activist and donor, endorsed and contributed to [[Hillary Clinton]] for president in the [[2016 presidential election]]. Clinton has not repudiated the endorsement nor returned the money despite allegations from Flynt's eldest daughter she had been sexually abused as a child by her father.<ref>{{Cite book
|last = Flynt-Vega
|first = Tonya
|title = Hustled
|publisher = Westminster John Knox Press
|url =http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-664-22114-0
|deadurl=no |accessdate=November 22, 2013
|year = 1998
|isbn = 978-0-664-22114-0
|page = 310
}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{reflist|2}}

{{communism}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flynt, Larry}}

[[Category:Culture War]]
[[Category:Pornographers]]
[[Category:Pornography]]
[[Category:Liberal Magazines]]
[[Category:Democratic Party]]
[[Category:Clinton Administration]]
[[Category:Liberals]]
[[Category:Corruption]]
[[Category:Atheists]]
[[Category:Hillary Clinton]]
[[Category:Hollywood Values]]
[[Category:1990s]]

Turkiye

2022-02-07T21:45:46Z

Andrewlee: /* Government and political conditions */

For the animal with the same name see [[Turkey (bird)]]

{{Country
|name =''Türkiye Cumhuriyeti''
|map =Turkey rel 2006.jpg
|flag =Flag of Turkey.png
|arms =Emblem of Turkey.svg.png
|capital =Ankara
|capital-raw =
|government =Republic
|government-raw =
|language =Turkish
|king =
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =
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|area =302,535 sq mi
|pop =85,000,000 (2020)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =$794,000,000,000 (2021)
|gdp-year =
|gdp-pc =$9,327 (2021)
|currency =Turkish lira
|idd =
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}}
The '''Republic of Turkey''' is a transcontinental country occupying the Anatolian Peninsula of [[Western Asia]], as well as a small section of Southeastern [[Europe]] at the Bosporus Strait.

Turkey has a lot of cultural heritage places. It is the land of the Seven Churches of [[Book of Revelation|Revelation]]. 89.5% of its people are [[Muslim]]s<ref>[https://t24.com.tr/haber/optimar-dan-din-inanc-anketi-yuzde-89-allah-in-varligina-ve-birligine-inaniyor,821459 Optimar'dan din-inanç anketi: Yüzde 89 Allah'ın varlığına ve birliğine inanıyor]</ref> and religion doesn't play a pivotal role in their lives. Most of the Turks are said to be cultural or nominal Muslims and continue to practice [[Shamanism|shamanistic]] traditions from pre-Islamic heritage. Although, [[atheism]] and [[deism]] are increasing in Turkey, there is a growing amount of [[Islamism]], largely due to [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan|Erdoğan]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2018/04/turkey-why-so-many-turks-are-losing-faith-in-islam.html|title=Why so many Turks are losing faith in Islam|last=Akyol|first=Mustafa|date=2018-04-16|work=Al-Monitor|access-date=2018-04-21|language=en-us}}</ref><ref>[https://www.dw.com/en/atheism-grows-in-turkey-as-recep-tayyip-erdogan-urges-islam/a-47018029 Atheism grows in Turkey as Recep Tayyip Erdogan urges Islam]</ref><ref>[http://asianews.it/news-en/The-number-of-atheists-increasing-in-Turkey-45956.html The number of atheists increasing in Turkey]</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43981745 The young Turks rejecting Islam]</ref><ref>https://www.thecairoreview.com/essays/turkeys-pan-islamist-foreign-policy/</ref>

Turkey continued the [[Western world|West]]-oriented [[modernization]] initiated by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] dynasty and statesmen. Many things in Turkey contain a mixture of the West and the East, the old and the new, the traditional and the modern. When you visit even the smallest city in Turkey no matter how little its population is, you will find that different cultural elements, traditions, beliefs, languages or dialects live.<ref>[https://www.studyinturkey.gov.tr/StudyinTurkey/ShowDetail?rID=ctfC0sgwTeQ=&&cId=PE4Nr0mMoY4= Culture - Study in Turkey]</ref> Even those who have not done anything related to [[Islam]] in their lives see being Muslim as a part of their identity. Therefore, they may have a negative attitude towards [[Christianity]] or other religions. Because of historical hostilities and bigotry, Turkey is virulently [[Anti-Christian sentiment|anti-Christian]].<ref>https://www.jihadwatch.org/2020/03/turkey-muslims-screaming-allahu-akbar-disrupt-christian-funeral-desecrate-christian-graves</ref> Despite being a [[secular]] and [[Westernization|Westernized]] country, it incites against Christians and the other non-[[Sunni]] religious minorities due to radical nature of Islamic cultural background. It is sometimes debated whether Turkey is a [[secular state]] due to state support for Sunnism. (Sunni clergy are civil servants. Mosques are under state control.) The governing [[Justice and Development Party|AKP]] in Turkey depicts Christians as a "threat to the stability of the nation". Turkish Christian citizens have often been stereotyped as not "real Turks" but as "Western collaborators" by this bigoted and prejudiced point of view.<ref>[https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/israel-zionism/2020/12/how-yasir-arafat-drove-christians-from-bethlehem/ How Yasir Arafat Drove Christians from Bethlehem] D. Weinberg, Mosaic Mag., Dec. 28, 2020.</ref>

==History==
[[Image:St. Sophie Turkey.jpg|right|280px|thumb|Hagia Sophia, Istanbul.]]
[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Mustafa Kemal Pasha]], celebrated by the Turkish State as a Turkish [[World War I]] hero and later known as Atatürk ("Father-Turk"), led the founding of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 after the collapse of the 600-year-old [[Ottoman Empire]] and a three-year war of independence. The empire, which at its peak controlled vast stretches of Northern Africa, Southeastern Europe, and Western Asia, had failed to keep pace with European social and technological developments. The rise of national consciousness impelled several national groups within the Empire to seek independence as nation-states, leading to the empire's fragmentation. This process culminated in the disastrous Ottoman participation in World War I as a German ally. Defeated, shorn of much of its former territory, and partly occupied by forces of the victorious European states, the Ottoman structure was repudiated by Turkish nationalists brought together under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal. The nationalists expelled invading Greek, Armenian, French, British, and Italian forces from Anatolia and Turkish Thrace in a bitter war—and with a diplomatic struggle. After the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey the temporal and religious ruling institutions of the old empire (the sultanate and caliphate) were abolished.

The leaders of the new republic concentrated on consolidating their power and modernizing and Westernizing what had been the empire's core—Asian Anatolia and a part of European Thrace. Social, political, linguistic, and economic reforms and attitudes decreed by Atatürk from 1924-1934 continue to be referred to as the ideological base of modern Turkey. In the post-Atatürk era, and especially after the military coup of 1960, this ideology came to be known as "Kemalism" and his reforms began to be referred to as "revolutions." Kemalism comprises a Turkish form of secularism, strong nationalism, statism, and to a degree a western orientation. The continued validity and applicability of Kemalism are the subject of lively debate in Turkey's political life. The current ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) comes from a tradition that challenges many of the Kemalist precepts and is driven in its reform efforts by a desire to achieve EU accession.

Turkey entered [[World War II]] on the Allied side until shortly before the war ended, becoming a charter member of the [[United Nations]]. Difficulties faced by [[Greece]] after World War II in quelling a communist rebellion and demands by the [[Soviet Union]] for military bases in the Turkish Straits prompted the United States to declare the [[Truman Doctrine]] in 1947. The doctrine enunciated American intentions to guarantee the security of Turkey and Greece and resulted in large scale U.S. military and economic aid under the [[Marshall Plan]]. After participating with United Nations forces in the [[Korean War|Korean conflict]], Turkey in 1952 joined the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] (NATO). Turkey is currently a [[European Union]] candidate, although this has been clouded by their refusal to acknowledge the [[Armenian genocide]].

==Disputed territories==
===Kurdistan===
:{{Main article|Kurdistan}}

==People==
[[File:Istiklal Caddesi 06 24 09 0068.jpg|thumb|right|A busy day on İstiklal Avenue, Istanbul.]]
Modern Turkey encompasses bustling [[cosmopolitan]] centers, pastoral farming villages, barren wastelands, peaceful Aegean coastlines, and steep mountain regions. More than half of Turkey's population lives in urban areas that juxtapose Western lifestyles with more traditional ways of life.

Turkey is officially a [[secular state|secular]] country with no official religion since the constitutional amendment in 1928 and later strengthened by Atatürk's Reforms and the appliance of laicism by the country's founder and first president [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]] on February 5, 1937. Due to oppression of [[Christianity]], Turkey's population is nearly entirely (at least cultural) [[Muslim]]. Most Turkish Muslims follow the [[Sunni]] traditions of Islam, although a significant number follow Alevi and [[Shiite]] traditions. Questions regarding role of religion in society and government, the role of linguistic and ethnic identity, and the public's expectation to live in security dominate public discourse. Turkish citizens who assert a [[Kurds|Kurdish]] identity constitute an ethnic and linguistic group that is estimated at up to 12 million in number.
[[File:Iskenderun church.jpg|thumb|right|St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in İskenderun, Hatay.]]
*Population (2018): 82 million.
*Annual population growth rate (2017 est.): 1.24%.
*Ethnic groups: Turkish, Kurdish, other.
*Religions: Muslim (majority), Christian, [[Baha'i Faith|Baha'i]], and Jewish.
*Languages: Turkish (official and majority), Kurdish, Zaza, Arabic, Armenian, Greek.
*Education: Years compulsory—8. Attendance—97.6%. Literacy—86.5%. ''(it's not current data)''
*Health: Infant mortality rate—39.4/1,000. Life expectancy—68.5 yrs. ''(it's not current data)''
*Work force (23 million): Agriculture—35.6%; industry—17.5%; services—47.2%. ''(it's not current data)''

==Government and political conditions==
The 1982 Constitution, drafted by the military in the wake of a 1980 military coup, proclaims Turkey's system of government as [[democracy|democratic]], [[secular state|secular]], and [[Parliamentary Republic|parliamentary]]. A [[Presidential Government|presidential system]] was adopted with a referendum in 2017; the new system came into effect with the presidential election in 2018 and gives the President complete control of the executive, including the power to issue decrees, appoint his own cabinet, draw up the budget, dissolve parliament by calling early elections, and pack the bureaucracy and the courts with political appointees. The office of Prime Minister has been abolished and its powers (together with those of the Cabinet) have been transferred to the President, who is the head of state and is elected for a five-year term by direct elections. [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] is the first president elected by direct voting. Turkey's constitution governs the legal framework of the country. It sets out the main principles of government and establishes Turkey as a unitary centralized state.

Executive power is exercized by the President, while the legislative power is vested in the unicameral parliament, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The judiciary is nominally independent from the executive and the legislature, but the constitutional changes that came into effect with the referendums in 2007, 2010 and 2017 gave larger powers to the President and the ruling party for appointing or dismissing judges and prosecutors. The Constitutional Court is charged with ruling on the conformity of laws and decrees with the constitution. The Council of State is the tribunal of last resort for administrative cases, and the High Court of Appeals for all others.
[[File:Turkish Parliament in Ankara.jpg|thumb|300px|The Parliament in Ankara.]]

Universal suffrage for both sexes has been applied throughout Turkey since 1933 and before most countries, and every Turkish citizen who has turned 18 years of age has the right to vote. There are 600 members of parliament who are elected for a five-year term by a party-list proportional representation system from 85 electoral districts. The Constitutional Court can strip the public financing of political parties that it deems anti-secular or separatist, or ban their existence altogether. The electoral threshold is 10 percent of the votes.

Supporters of [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Atatürk]]'s reforms are called Kemalists, as distinguished from [[Islamism|Islamists]], representing the two diverging views regarding the role of religion in legislation, education and public life. The Kemalist view supports a form of democracy with a laicist [[constitution]] and Westernized secular lifestyle, while maintaining the necessity of state intervention in the economy, education and other public services. Since its foundation as a republic in 1923, Turkey has developed a strong tradition of secularism. However, since the 1980s, issues such as income inequality and class distinction have given rise to Islamic [[populism]], a movement that supports a larger role for religion in government policies, and in theory supports obligation to authority, communal solidarity and social justice; though what that entails in practice is often contested. Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the [[Justice and Development Party]] has been described as becoming increasingly authoritarian. Prior to the constitutional referendum in 2017 the Council of Europe saw Turkey drifting towards an autocracy, warning of a "dramatic regression of its democratic order". Many elements in the constitutional reform package that was approved with the referendum in 2017 have increased concerns in the European Union regarding democracy and the separation of powers in Turkey.

As of 2017 the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index rates Turkey at 4.88 (on a 0–10 scale), classifying Turkey as a Hybrid Regime. In 2018, Freedom House rated Turkey at 32 (on a 0–100 scale) as Not Free.

Human-right abuses, especially against [[Christians]] remains a problem<ref>http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78844.htm</ref> and the frequency of violent attacks on Christian ministers and priests is still high.<ref>http://washingtontimes.com/upi/20070418-030533-9552</ref><ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5139408.stm</ref>

The [[Kurdish Worker Party]] (PKK), an [[far-left|extreme]] [[leftist]] ethnic nationalist and [[separatism|separatist]] –originally [[Marxism-Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]]– [[terrorism|terrorist]] organization, founded in 1978, seeks the foundation of an independent [[socialism|socialist]] [[Kurds|Kurdish]] state.<ref name="Jongerden">{{Cite journal|last=Jongerden|first=Joost|date=2017-10-01|title=Gender equality and radical democracy: Contractions and conflicts in relation to the "new paradigm" within the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)|url=https://journals.openedition.org/anatoli/618|journal=Anatoli. De l'Adriatique à la Caspienne. Territoires, Politique, Sociétés|language=en|issue=8|pages=233–256|doi=10.4000/anatoli.618|issn=2111-4064}}</ref> It is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey,<ref name="RadioFrance" /> the [[United States]],<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|title=Foreign Terrorist Organizations|url=https://www.state.gov/foreign-terrorist-organizations/|access-date=2021-03-10|website=United States Department of State|language=en-US}}</ref> the [[European Union]],<ref name=":10">{{Cite web|title=Turkey 2019 Report|url=https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/sites/near/files/20190529-turkey-report.pdf|access-date=16 December 2019|website=ec.europa.eu|page=5}}</ref> and some other countries.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web|last=department|first=Attorney-General's|title=Listed terrorist organisations|url=https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205054738/http://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx|archive-date=5 February 2016|access-date=18 December 2019|website=www.nationalsecurity.gov.au|language=en-au}}</ref><ref name="Japan_ban">{{cite web|title=MOFA: Implementation of the Measures including the Freezing of Assets against Terrorists and the Like|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406134416/http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html|archive-date=6 April 2013|access-date=21 November 2013}}</ref> The PKK was formed as part of the Kurdish nationalist schism within the Turkish [[communism|communist]] movement<ref name="Jongerden"/> and the growing discontent over the suppression of Turkey's Kurds, in an effort to establish linguistic, cultural, and political rights for the Kurdish minority.<ref name="Palgrave Macmillan">{{cite book|last1=Joseph|first1=J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G06BDAAAQBAJ|title=Turkey and the European Union internal dynamics and external challenges|date=2006|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|isbn=0230598587|location=Basingstoke [England]|page=100}}</ref> Following the military coup of 1980, the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in public and private life to prevent separatism.<ref name="NYTK">Toumani, Meline. [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/magazine/17turkey-t.html?ex=1361854800&en=df64cf85326e2103&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink Minority Rules], ''[[New York Times]]'', 17 February 2008</ref> Many who spoke, published, or sang in Kurdish were arrested and imprisoned.<ref name="Cambridge University Press">{{cite book|last1=Aslan|first1=Senem|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wTAWBQAAQBAJ|title=Nation Building in Turkey and Morocco|date=2014|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1107054608|page=134}}</ref> The PKK's response to these policies has been the bombing of downtowns, the massacre of civilians, and the destruction of schools and hospitals in the Kurdish-majority cities of Turkey.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10576100701558620|doi = 10.1080/10576100701558620|title = The Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) as Criminal Syndicate: Funding Terrorism through Organized Crime, A Case Study|year = 2007|last1 = Roth|first1 = Mitchel P.|last2 = Sever|first2 = Murat|journal = Studies in Conflict & Terrorism|volume = 30|issue = 10|pages = 901–920|s2cid = 110700560}}</ref><ref name="amnestysecurity"/><ref name="childsoldiers"/> It has faced condemnation by some countries and human rights organizations for the killing of teachers and civil servants,<ref name="amnestysecurity">{{Cite web | url = https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a9ea0.html | title = No Security Without Human Rights | publisher = [[Amnesty International]] | access-date = 1 February 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Öğretmen Necmettin Yılmaz'ın Öldürülmesini Kınıyoruz!|url=https://www.ihd.org.tr/ogretmen-necmettin-yilmazin-oldurulmesini-kiniyoruz/|access-date=2021-03-12|website=[[İnsan Hakları Derneği]]|language=tr}}</ref> using [[Suicide attack|suicide bombers]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Foreign diplomats, countries condemn Cizre attack - World News|url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/foreign-diplomats-countries-condemn-cizre-attack-103271|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Hürriyet Daily News|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=PKK claims deadly suicide bombing at Turkish police station|url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-claims-responsibility-suicide-bombing-left-11-dead-turkey-1381604350|access-date=27 December 2018|website=Middle East Eye|archive-date=14 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214114351/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-claims-responsibility-suicide-bombing-left-11-dead-turkey-1381604350|url-status=dead}}</ref> and recruiting child soldiers.<ref name="childsoldiers">{{Cite web | url = https://www.refworld.org/docid/498805c428.html | title = Child Soldiers Global Report 2001 - Turkey | publisher = [[Child Soldiers International]] | access-date = 1 February 2021 }}</ref><ref name="HRWCS">{{Cite web|date=2016-12-22|title=Iraq: Armed Groups Using Child Soldiers|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/12/22/iraq-armed-groups-using-child-soldiers-0|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Human Rights Watch|language=en}}</ref> It was armed by the [[Obama administration]].<ref>https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/antifa-ypg-pkk-ties-threaten-national-peace-in-west/1899520</ref> The PKK trained [[Antifa]] fighters in Northern [[Syria]].<ref>https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/war-on-terror/ypgpkk-recruited-foreign-fighters-from-antifa-groups-in-western-countries-report-says</ref>

[[File:Ankara panorama Turkey.jpg|thumb|center|700px|The capital Ankara.]]

{{Clear}}
===Principal government officials===
*President of the Republic — Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
*Vice President of the Republic — Fuat Oktay

===Foreign relations===
[[File:Turkish girls laughing in calimanesti.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Turkish dancers in a festival in [[Romania]].]]
Turkey's primary political, economic, and security ties are with the West, although some voices call for a more "Eurasian" orientation.

Turkey entered NATO in 1952 and serves as the organization's vital eastern anchor, controlling the straits leading from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and sharing a border with Syria, Iraq, and Iran. A NATO headquarters is located in Izmir. Besides its relationships with NATO and the EU, Turkey is a member of the OECD, the Council of Europe, and OSCE. Turkey also is a member of the UN and the Islamic Conference Organization (OIC). In December 1999, Turkey became a candidate for EU membership. On December 17, 2004, the EU decided to begin formal accession negotiations with Turkey in October 2005.

Turkey and the EU formed a customs union beginning January 1, 1996. The agreement covers industrial and processed agricultural goods. Turkey is harmonizing its laws and regulations with EU standards. Turkey adopted the EU's Common External Tariff regime, effectively lowering Turkey's tariffs for third countries, including the United States.

On October 3, 2005, Turkey and the EU reached agreement for Turkey to begin negotiations on accession to the European Union. Turkey and EU officials have begun the process of screening Turkey's laws and policies in order to begin negotiating the individual chapters required for ultimate EU accession. However, this admission request has not been without criticism,<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2420697.stm</ref> including:
*Serious human rights violations<ref>http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20070419-0809-italy-turkey-eu.html</ref>
*Refusal to admit genocide of [[Armenia]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6043730.stm</ref>
*Refusal to recognize [[Cyprus]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6153186.stm</ref>
*Only 3% of Turkey is in [[Europe]]
*Threat of increasing [[Islamic]] fundamentalism<ref>http://www.freemuslims.org/news/article.php?article=1761</ref>

Turkey opened and provisionally closed in 2006 one EU negotiating chapter on science and technology. Another chapter on statistics was opened in February 2007, and two more are expected to be opened by July 1, 2007. Eight chapters, mostly related to trade, were suspended by the European Council in December 2006 after Turkey declined to open its ports and airports to Cypriot vessels—a commitment Turkey made as part of the Ankara Protocol and its EU Customs Union membership.

Turkey is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It has signed free trade agreements with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Israel, and many other countries. In 1992 Turkey and 10 other regional nations formed the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Council to expand regional trade and economic cooperation. Turkey chaired BSEC in 2007 and hosted in Istanbul the 15th BSEC Summit in June 2007.

===Relations with the United States===
U.S.-Turkish friendship dates to the late 18th century and was officially sealed by a treaty in 1830. The present close relationship began with the agreement of July 12, 1947, which implemented the Truman Doctrine. As part of the cooperative effort to further Turkish economic and military self-reliance, the United States has loaned and granted Turkey more than $12.5 billion in economic aid and more than $14 billion in military assistance.

U.S.-Turkish relations focus on areas such as strategic energy cooperation, trade and investment, security ties, regional stability, the global war on terrorism, and human rights progress. Relations were strained when Turkey refused in March 2003 to allow U.S. troops to deploy through its territory to Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom, but regained momentum steadily thereafter and mutual interests remain strong across a wide spectrum of issues. On July 5, 2006, Secretary Rice and then-Foreign Minister Gül signed a Shared Vision Statement to highlight the common values and goals between our two countries and to lay out a framework for increased strategic dialogue.

The U.S. and Turkey have had a Joint Economic Commission and a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, which last met in Washington in April 2007, for several years. In 2002, the two countries indicated their joint intent to upgrade bilateral economic relations by launching an Economic Partnership Commission, which last convened in Ankara in February 2007. In 2006, Turkish exports to the U.S. totaled about $5.4 billion, and U.S. exports to Turkey totaled $5.7 billion.

[[Condoleezza Rice]] ones described Turkey as “a vital and strategic partner of the United States”. But since the tenure of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan these times are over.<ref>https://www.nationalreview.com/article/348422/erdo%C4%9Fan%E2%80%99s-agenda</ref> For example, he equated [[Zionism]] with [[Fascism]], [[John Kerry]] criticized him for this statement.<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/01/official-kerry-to-rap-turkey-pm-for-remark/</ref>

==Economy==
[[Image:Framed medallion Turkey.jpg|300px|thumb|Framed medallion.]]
Turkey is a large, middle-income country with relatively few natural resources. Its economy is currently in transition from a high degree of reliance on agriculture and heavy industrial economy to a more diversified economy with an increasingly large and globalized services sector. Coming out of a tradition of a state-directed economy that was relatively closed to the outside world, Prime Minister and then President Turgut Özal began to open up the economy in the 1980s, leading to the signing of a Customs Union with the European Union in 1995. In the 1990s, Turkey's economy suffered from a series of coalition governments with weak economic policies, leading to high-inflation boom-and-bust cycles that culminated in a severe banking and economic crisis in 2001 and a deep economic downturn (GNP fell 9.5% in 2001) and increase in unemployment.

Turkey's economy has recovered strongly from the 2001 thanks to good monetary and fiscal policies and structural economic reforms made with the support of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The independence of the Central Bank has been firmly established, a floating exchange rate system has been put in place, and the government's overall budget deficit has been substantially reduced. In addition, there have been substantial reforms in the financial, energy, and telecommunications sectors that have included the privatization of several large state-owned institutions.

Turkey's economy grew an average of 7.5% per year from 2002 through 2006—one of the highest sustained rates of growth in the world. It is expected to grow about 6.1% in 2007. Inflation and interest rates have fallen significantly, the currency has stabilized, government debt has declined to more supportable levels, and business and consumer confidence have returned. At the same time, booming economic growth has contributed to a growing current account deficit. Though Turkey's vulnerabilities have been greatly reduced, the economy could still face problems in the event there is a sudden change in investor sentiment that leads to a sharp fall in the exchange rate. Continued implementation of reforms, including tight fiscal policy, is essential to sustain growth and stability.

After years of low levels of foreign direct investment (FDI), in 2006, Turkey succeeded in attracting $18.9 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) and is expected to attract a similar level in 2007. A series of large privatizations, the stability fostered by the start of Turkey's EU accession negotiations, strong and stable growth, and structural changes in the banking, retail, and telecommunications sectors have all contributed to the rise in foreign investment. Turkey has taken steps to improve its investment climate through administrative streamlining, an end to foreign investment screening, and strengthened intellectual property legislation. However, a number of disputes involving foreign investors in Turkey and certain policies, such as high taxation and continuing gaps in the intellectual property regime, inhibit investment. Turkey has a number of bilateral investment and tax treaties, including with the United States, which guarantee free repatriation of capital in convertible currencies and eliminate double taxation.
*GDP: $750 billion (2020)
*GDP per capita: $8,824 (2020)
*Annual real GDP growth rate: (2004) (+) 8.9%; (2005) 7.4%; (2006) 6.0%.
*Annual inflation rate /CPI: (2003) 18.4%; (2004) 9.3%; (2005) 7.7%; (2006) 9.7%.
*Natural resources: Coal, chromium, mercury, copper, boron, oil, gold.
*Agriculture (10.8% of GNP): Major cash crops—cotton, sugar beets, hazelnuts, wheat, barley, and tobacco. Provides 26% of jobs and 4% of exports.
*Industry (25.4% of GNP): Major growth sector, types—automotive, electronics, food processing, textiles, basic metals, chemicals, and petrochemicals. Provides 20% of jobs.
*Trade: Exports (merchandise)--(2005) $73.1 billion; (2006) $83.5 billion: textiles and apparel, industrial machinery, iron and steel, electronics, petroleum products, and motor vehicles. Imports (merchandise)--(2005) $116 billion; (2006) 135.5 billion: petroleum, machinery, motor vehicles, electronics, iron and steel, plastics precious metals. Major partners—Germany, U.S., Italy, France, Russia, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, U.K.

====European Union accession====
Turkey's principal ongoing economic challenge is providing for the needs of a fast-growing, young population. Raising living standards to those prevalent in Europe will require high rates of GDP growth sustained over many years. This will entail continued structural reforms that encourage both domestic and foreign investment. Principal areas for reform identified by international financial intuitions include increasing flexibility in the labor market, making the educational sector more responsive to the needs of the economy and ensuring faster and more predictable operation of the judicial system. As an aspirant to membership in the European Union, Turkey aims to adopt the EU's basic system of national law and regulation (the acquis communautaire) by 2014. While implementing some elements of the acquis will be costly and difficult (for example in the areas of environmental protection and agriculture), its adoption will make a significant contribution to modernizing the economy.

====Energy====
[[File:Electric Energy Grid Turkey.jpg|thumb|360px|Electric Energy Grid.]]
Installed electricity generation capacity in Turkey reached 35,600 megawatts (MW) as of 2004. Fossil fuels account for 71% of the total installed capacity and hydro, geothermal, and wind account for the remaining 28%. The growth in electricity generation has remained below electricity demand until recently, which has made Turkey a net importer of electricity since 1997. The growth of energy demand slowed somewhat as a result of the 2001 economic crisis, but has picked up again. Turkish authorities expect a significant electricity shortfall unless new facilities become operational. The Government of Turkey took some important steps in 2001 to liberalize its energy sector, including passage of the Electricity Market Law and establishment of the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA). However, the government has moved slowly to follow through on plans to liberalize and privatize the electricity and natural gas sectors. In 2004, the High Planning Council approved the Electricity Sector Reform Strategy to renew the reform process.

Oil provides about 43% of Turkey's total energy requirements; around 90% is imported. Domestic production is mostly from small fields in the southeast. New exploration is taking place in the eastern Black Sea. In 2004, the Parliament approved a petroleum market reform bill that liberalized consumer prices and would lead to the privatization of the state refining company TUPRAS. TUPRAS was privatized in 2005, but this has been held up by court cases still in process. Turkey has a refining capacity of 802,275 barrels per day (b/d).

Turkey acts as an important link in the East-West Southern Energy Corridor bringing Caspian, Central Asian, and Middle Eastern energy to Europe and world markets. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which came online in July 2006, delivers 1 million b/d of petroleum, and in 2007, the South Caucasus Pipeline (from Shah Deniz) is expected to bring natural gas from Azerbaijan to Turkey. Turkey is building an interconnector pipeline to Greece, an important step in bringing Caspian natural gas to Europe via Turkey.

====Telecommunications====
[[File:Turk map.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Turkey map.]]
Parliament enacted legislation separating telecommunications policy and regulatory functions in January 2000, by establishing an independent regulatory body, the Telecommunication Authority. The Authority is responsible for issuing licenses, supervising operators, and taking necessary technical measures against violations of the rules. Most regulatory functions of the Transport Ministry were transferred to the Authority, and the regulator is slowly gaining competence and independence. The long-expected privatization of the state-owned telecommunications company was accomplished by the sale of 55% of Turk Telekom to the Saudi-owned Oger Group in November 2005. With liberalization and growth in the economy, there is growing competition for Internet provision, but Turk Telekom remains the sole provider of ADSL wide band Internet.

====Environment====
[[File:TurkishForest.jpg|thumb|left|280px|Turkish forest.]]
With the establishment of the Environment Ministry in 1991, Turkey began to make significant progress addressing its most pressing environmental problems. The most dramatic improvements were significant reductions of air pollution in Istanbul and Ankara. However, progress has been slow on the remaining—and serious—environmental challenges facing Turkey.

In 2003, the Ministry of Environment was merged with the Forestry Ministry. With its goal to join the EU, Turkey has made commendable progress in updating and modernizing its environmental legislation. However, environmental concerns are not fully integrated into public decision-making and enforcement can be weak. Turkey faces a backlog of environmental problems, requiring enormous outlays for infrastructure. The most pressing needs are for water treatment plants, wastewater treatment facilities, solid waste management, and conservation of biodiversity. The discovery of a number of chemical waste sites in 2006 has highlighted weakness in environmental law and oversight.
{{Clear}}

====Transportation====
The Turkish Government gives a special priority to major infrastructure projects, especially in the transport sector. The government is in the process of building new airports and highways, thanks to an increased public investment budget. The government will realize many of these projects by utilizing the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.

== See also ==
[[File:Blue mosque Istanbul Turkey.jpg|thumb|The Blue Mosque, Istanbul.]]
*[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]]
*[[Battle of Adrianople]]
*[[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]]
*[[Oriental art]]
*[[Göbekli Tepe]]
*[[Catal Huyuk|Çatalhöyük]]
{{Clear}}

== External links ==
*[http://bertschlossberg.blogspot.com/ A Turkish Delight: they think so in Israel also!]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{| style="width: 100%; background:transparent; border: 2px solid #000099;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="1"
!colspan=2 style="width: 100%; text-align: center; background-color: #000088; color: white; "|'''Copyright Details'''
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!style="background-color: #000088; color:white;"|License:
|style=" background-color: none;"| This work is in the [[Public Domain]] in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the U.S. Code
|-
!style=" background-color: #000088; color:white;"|Source:
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{{Asian Countries}}

[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:NATO Members]]
[[Category:Turkey]]
[[Category:Muslim-Majority Countries]]

Turkiye

2022-02-07T21:34:33Z

Andrewlee: /* Government and political conditions */

For the animal with the same name see [[Turkey (bird)]]

{{Country
|name =''Türkiye Cumhuriyeti''
|map =Turkey rel 2006.jpg
|flag =Flag of Turkey.png
|arms =Emblem of Turkey.svg.png
|capital =Ankara
|capital-raw =
|government =Republic
|government-raw =
|language =Turkish
|king =
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =
|pm-raw =
|area =302,535 sq mi
|pop =85,000,000 (2020)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =$794,000,000,000 (2021)
|gdp-year =
|gdp-pc =$9,327 (2021)
|currency =Turkish lira
|idd =
|tld =
}}
The '''Republic of Turkey''' is a transcontinental country occupying the Anatolian Peninsula of [[Western Asia]], as well as a small section of Southeastern [[Europe]] at the Bosporus Strait.

Turkey has a lot of cultural heritage places. It is the land of the Seven Churches of [[Book of Revelation|Revelation]]. 89.5% of its people are [[Muslim]]s<ref>[https://t24.com.tr/haber/optimar-dan-din-inanc-anketi-yuzde-89-allah-in-varligina-ve-birligine-inaniyor,821459 Optimar'dan din-inanç anketi: Yüzde 89 Allah'ın varlığına ve birliğine inanıyor]</ref> and religion doesn't play a pivotal role in their lives. Most of the Turks are said to be cultural or nominal Muslims and continue to practice [[Shamanism|shamanistic]] traditions from pre-Islamic heritage. Although, [[atheism]] and [[deism]] are increasing in Turkey, there is a growing amount of [[Islamism]], largely due to [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan|Erdoğan]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2018/04/turkey-why-so-many-turks-are-losing-faith-in-islam.html|title=Why so many Turks are losing faith in Islam|last=Akyol|first=Mustafa|date=2018-04-16|work=Al-Monitor|access-date=2018-04-21|language=en-us}}</ref><ref>[https://www.dw.com/en/atheism-grows-in-turkey-as-recep-tayyip-erdogan-urges-islam/a-47018029 Atheism grows in Turkey as Recep Tayyip Erdogan urges Islam]</ref><ref>[http://asianews.it/news-en/The-number-of-atheists-increasing-in-Turkey-45956.html The number of atheists increasing in Turkey]</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43981745 The young Turks rejecting Islam]</ref><ref>https://www.thecairoreview.com/essays/turkeys-pan-islamist-foreign-policy/</ref>

Turkey continued the [[Western world|West]]-oriented [[modernization]] initiated by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] dynasty and statesmen. Many things in Turkey contain a mixture of the West and the East, the old and the new, the traditional and the modern. When you visit even the smallest city in Turkey no matter how little its population is, you will find that different cultural elements, traditions, beliefs, languages or dialects live.<ref>[https://www.studyinturkey.gov.tr/StudyinTurkey/ShowDetail?rID=ctfC0sgwTeQ=&&cId=PE4Nr0mMoY4= Culture - Study in Turkey]</ref> Even those who have not done anything related to [[Islam]] in their lives see being Muslim as a part of their identity. Therefore, they may have a negative attitude towards [[Christianity]] or other religions. Because of historical hostilities and bigotry, Turkey is virulently [[Anti-Christian sentiment|anti-Christian]].<ref>https://www.jihadwatch.org/2020/03/turkey-muslims-screaming-allahu-akbar-disrupt-christian-funeral-desecrate-christian-graves</ref> Despite being a [[secular]] and [[Westernization|Westernized]] country, it incites against Christians and the other non-[[Sunni]] religious minorities due to radical nature of Islamic cultural background. It is sometimes debated whether Turkey is a [[secular state]] due to state support for Sunnism. (Sunni clergy are civil servants. Mosques are under state control.) The governing [[Justice and Development Party|AKP]] in Turkey depicts Christians as a "threat to the stability of the nation". Turkish Christian citizens have often been stereotyped as not "real Turks" but as "Western collaborators" by this bigoted and prejudiced point of view.<ref>[https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/israel-zionism/2020/12/how-yasir-arafat-drove-christians-from-bethlehem/ How Yasir Arafat Drove Christians from Bethlehem] D. Weinberg, Mosaic Mag., Dec. 28, 2020.</ref>

==History==
[[Image:St. Sophie Turkey.jpg|right|280px|thumb|Hagia Sophia, Istanbul.]]
[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Mustafa Kemal Pasha]], celebrated by the Turkish State as a Turkish [[World War I]] hero and later known as Atatürk ("Father-Turk"), led the founding of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 after the collapse of the 600-year-old [[Ottoman Empire]] and a three-year war of independence. The empire, which at its peak controlled vast stretches of Northern Africa, Southeastern Europe, and Western Asia, had failed to keep pace with European social and technological developments. The rise of national consciousness impelled several national groups within the Empire to seek independence as nation-states, leading to the empire's fragmentation. This process culminated in the disastrous Ottoman participation in World War I as a German ally. Defeated, shorn of much of its former territory, and partly occupied by forces of the victorious European states, the Ottoman structure was repudiated by Turkish nationalists brought together under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal. The nationalists expelled invading Greek, Armenian, French, British, and Italian forces from Anatolia and Turkish Thrace in a bitter war—and with a diplomatic struggle. After the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey the temporal and religious ruling institutions of the old empire (the sultanate and caliphate) were abolished.

The leaders of the new republic concentrated on consolidating their power and modernizing and Westernizing what had been the empire's core—Asian Anatolia and a part of European Thrace. Social, political, linguistic, and economic reforms and attitudes decreed by Atatürk from 1924-1934 continue to be referred to as the ideological base of modern Turkey. In the post-Atatürk era, and especially after the military coup of 1960, this ideology came to be known as "Kemalism" and his reforms began to be referred to as "revolutions." Kemalism comprises a Turkish form of secularism, strong nationalism, statism, and to a degree a western orientation. The continued validity and applicability of Kemalism are the subject of lively debate in Turkey's political life. The current ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) comes from a tradition that challenges many of the Kemalist precepts and is driven in its reform efforts by a desire to achieve EU accession.

Turkey entered [[World War II]] on the Allied side until shortly before the war ended, becoming a charter member of the [[United Nations]]. Difficulties faced by [[Greece]] after World War II in quelling a communist rebellion and demands by the [[Soviet Union]] for military bases in the Turkish Straits prompted the United States to declare the [[Truman Doctrine]] in 1947. The doctrine enunciated American intentions to guarantee the security of Turkey and Greece and resulted in large scale U.S. military and economic aid under the [[Marshall Plan]]. After participating with United Nations forces in the [[Korean War|Korean conflict]], Turkey in 1952 joined the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] (NATO). Turkey is currently a [[European Union]] candidate, although this has been clouded by their refusal to acknowledge the [[Armenian genocide]].

==Disputed territories==
===Kurdistan===
:{{Main article|Kurdistan}}

==People==
[[File:Istiklal Caddesi 06 24 09 0068.jpg|thumb|right|A busy day on İstiklal Avenue, Istanbul.]]
Modern Turkey encompasses bustling [[cosmopolitan]] centers, pastoral farming villages, barren wastelands, peaceful Aegean coastlines, and steep mountain regions. More than half of Turkey's population lives in urban areas that juxtapose Western lifestyles with more traditional ways of life.

Turkey is officially a [[secular state|secular]] country with no official religion since the constitutional amendment in 1928 and later strengthened by Atatürk's Reforms and the appliance of laicism by the country's founder and first president [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]] on February 5, 1937. Due to oppression of [[Christianity]], Turkey's population is nearly entirely (at least cultural) [[Muslim]]. Most Turkish Muslims follow the [[Sunni]] traditions of Islam, although a significant number follow Alevi and [[Shiite]] traditions. Questions regarding role of religion in society and government, the role of linguistic and ethnic identity, and the public's expectation to live in security dominate public discourse. Turkish citizens who assert a [[Kurds|Kurdish]] identity constitute an ethnic and linguistic group that is estimated at up to 12 million in number.
[[File:Iskenderun church.jpg|thumb|right|St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in İskenderun, Hatay.]]
*Population (2018): 82 million.
*Annual population growth rate (2017 est.): 1.24%.
*Ethnic groups: Turkish, Kurdish, other.
*Religions: Muslim (majority), Christian, [[Baha'i Faith|Baha'i]], and Jewish.
*Languages: Turkish (official and majority), Kurdish, Zaza, Arabic, Armenian, Greek.
*Education: Years compulsory—8. Attendance—97.6%. Literacy—86.5%. ''(it's not current data)''
*Health: Infant mortality rate—39.4/1,000. Life expectancy—68.5 yrs. ''(it's not current data)''
*Work force (23 million): Agriculture—35.6%; industry—17.5%; services—47.2%. ''(it's not current data)''

==Government and political conditions==
The 1982 Constitution, drafted by the military in the wake of a 1980 military coup, proclaims Turkey's system of government as [[democracy|democratic]], [[secular state|secular]], and [[Parliamentary Republic|parliamentary]]. A [[Presidential Government|presidential system]] was adopted with a referendum in 2017; the new system came into effect with the presidential election in 2018 and gives the President complete control of the executive, including the power to issue decrees, appoint his own cabinet, draw up the budget, dissolve parliament by calling early elections, and pack the bureaucracy and the courts with political appointees. The office of Prime Minister has been abolished and its powers (together with those of the Cabinet) have been transferred to the President, who is the head of state and is elected for a five-year term by direct elections. [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] is the first president elected by direct voting. Turkey's constitution governs the legal framework of the country. It sets out the main principles of government and establishes Turkey as a unitary centralized state.

Executive power is exercized by the President, while the legislative power is vested in the unicameral parliament, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The judiciary is nominally independent from the executive and the legislature, but the constitutional changes that came into effect with the referendums in 2007, 2010 and 2017 gave larger powers to the President and the ruling party for appointing or dismissing judges and prosecutors. The Constitutional Court is charged with ruling on the conformity of laws and decrees with the constitution. The Council of State is the tribunal of last resort for administrative cases, and the High Court of Appeals for all others.
[[File:Turkish Parliament in Ankara.jpg|thumb|300px|The Parliament in Ankara.]]

Universal suffrage for both sexes has been applied throughout Turkey since 1933 and before most countries, and every Turkish citizen who has turned 18 years of age has the right to vote. There are 600 members of parliament who are elected for a five-year term by a party-list proportional representation system from 85 electoral districts. The Constitutional Court can strip the public financing of political parties that it deems anti-secular or separatist, or ban their existence altogether. The electoral threshold is 10 percent of the votes.

Supporters of [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Atatürk]]'s reforms are called Kemalists, as distinguished from [[Islamism|Islamists]], representing the two diverging views regarding the role of religion in legislation, education and public life. The Kemalist view supports a form of democracy with a laicist [[constitution]] and Westernized secular lifestyle, while maintaining the necessity of state intervention in the economy, education and other public services. Since its foundation as a republic in 1923, Turkey has developed a strong tradition of secularism. However, since the 1980s, issues such as income inequality and class distinction have given rise to Islamic [[populism]], a movement that supports a larger role for religion in government policies, and in theory supports obligation to authority, communal solidarity and social justice; though what that entails in practice is often contested. Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the [[Justice and Development Party]] has been described as becoming increasingly authoritarian. Prior to the constitutional referendum in 2017 the Council of Europe saw Turkey drifting towards an autocracy, warning of a "dramatic regression of its democratic order". Many elements in the constitutional reform package that was approved with the referendum in 2017 have increased concerns in the European Union regarding democracy and the separation of powers in Turkey.

As of 2017 the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index rates Turkey at 4.88 (on a 0–10 scale), classifying Turkey as a Hybrid Regime. In 2018, Freedom House rated Turkey at 32 (on a 0–100 scale) as Not Free.

Human-right abuses, especially against [[Christians]] remains a problem<ref>http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78844.htm</ref> and the frequency of violent attacks on Christian ministers and priests is still high.<ref>http://washingtontimes.com/upi/20070418-030533-9552</ref><ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5139408.stm</ref>

The [[Kurdish Worker Party]] (PKK), a [[leftist]] extreme ethnic nationalist and [[separatism|separatist]] –originally [[Marxism-Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]]– [[terrorism|terrorist]] organization, founded in 1978, seeks the foundation of an independent [[socialism|socialist]] [[Kurds|Kurdish]] state.<ref name="Jongerden">{{Cite journal|last=Jongerden|first=Joost|date=2017-10-01|title=Gender equality and radical democracy: Contractions and conflicts in relation to the "new paradigm" within the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)|url=https://journals.openedition.org/anatoli/618|journal=Anatoli. De l'Adriatique à la Caspienne. Territoires, Politique, Sociétés|language=en|issue=8|pages=233–256|doi=10.4000/anatoli.618|issn=2111-4064}}</ref> It is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey,<ref name="RadioFrance" /> the [[United States]],<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|title=Foreign Terrorist Organizations|url=https://www.state.gov/foreign-terrorist-organizations/|access-date=2021-03-10|website=United States Department of State|language=en-US}}</ref> the [[European Union]],<ref name=":10">{{Cite web|title=Turkey 2019 Report|url=https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/sites/near/files/20190529-turkey-report.pdf|access-date=16 December 2019|website=ec.europa.eu|page=5}}</ref> and some other countries.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web|last=department|first=Attorney-General's|title=Listed terrorist organisations|url=https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205054738/http://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Listedterroristorganisations/Pages/default.aspx|archive-date=5 February 2016|access-date=18 December 2019|website=www.nationalsecurity.gov.au|language=en-au}}</ref><ref name="Japan_ban">{{cite web|title=MOFA: Implementation of the Measures including the Freezing of Assets against Terrorists and the Like|url=http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406134416/http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2002/7/0705.html|archive-date=6 April 2013|access-date=21 November 2013}}</ref> The PKK was formed as part of the Kurdish nationalist schism within the Turkish [[communism|communist]] movement<ref name="Jongerden"/> and the growing discontent over the suppression of Turkey's Kurds, in an effort to establish linguistic, cultural, and political rights for the Kurdish minority.<ref name="Palgrave Macmillan">{{cite book|last1=Joseph|first1=J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G06BDAAAQBAJ|title=Turkey and the European Union internal dynamics and external challenges|date=2006|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|isbn=0230598587|location=Basingstoke [England]|page=100}}</ref> Following the military coup of 1980, the Kurdish language was officially prohibited in public and private life to prevent separatism.<ref name="NYTK">Toumani, Meline. [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/magazine/17turkey-t.html?ex=1361854800&en=df64cf85326e2103&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink Minority Rules], ''[[New York Times]]'', 17 February 2008</ref> Many who spoke, published, or sang in Kurdish were arrested and imprisoned.<ref name="Cambridge University Press">{{cite book|last1=Aslan|first1=Senem|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wTAWBQAAQBAJ|title=Nation Building in Turkey and Morocco|date=2014|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1107054608|page=134}}</ref> The PKK's response to these policies has been the bombing of downtowns, the massacre of civilians, and the destruction of schools and hospitals in the Kurdish-majority cities of Turkey.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10576100701558620|doi = 10.1080/10576100701558620|title = The Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) as Criminal Syndicate: Funding Terrorism through Organized Crime, A Case Study|year = 2007|last1 = Roth|first1 = Mitchel P.|last2 = Sever|first2 = Murat|journal = Studies in Conflict & Terrorism|volume = 30|issue = 10|pages = 901–920|s2cid = 110700560}}</ref><ref name="amnestysecurity"/><ref name="childsoldiers"/> It has faced condemnation by some countries and human rights organizations for the killing of teachers and civil servants,<ref name="amnestysecurity">{{Cite web | url = https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a9ea0.html | title = No Security Without Human Rights | publisher = [[Amnesty International]] | access-date = 1 February 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Öğretmen Necmettin Yılmaz'ın Öldürülmesini Kınıyoruz!|url=https://www.ihd.org.tr/ogretmen-necmettin-yilmazin-oldurulmesini-kiniyoruz/|access-date=2021-03-12|website=[[İnsan Hakları Derneği]]|language=tr}}</ref> using [[Suicide attack|suicide bombers]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Foreign diplomats, countries condemn Cizre attack - World News|url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/foreign-diplomats-countries-condemn-cizre-attack-103271|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Hürriyet Daily News|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=PKK claims deadly suicide bombing at Turkish police station|url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-claims-responsibility-suicide-bombing-left-11-dead-turkey-1381604350|access-date=27 December 2018|website=Middle East Eye|archive-date=14 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214114351/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-claims-responsibility-suicide-bombing-left-11-dead-turkey-1381604350|url-status=dead}}</ref> and recruiting child soldiers.<ref name="childsoldiers">{{Cite web | url = https://www.refworld.org/docid/498805c428.html | title = Child Soldiers Global Report 2001 - Turkey | publisher = [[Child Soldiers International]] | access-date = 1 February 2021 }}</ref><ref name="HRWCS">{{Cite web|date=2016-12-22|title=Iraq: Armed Groups Using Child Soldiers|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/12/22/iraq-armed-groups-using-child-soldiers-0|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Human Rights Watch|language=en}}</ref> It was armed by the [[Obama administration]].<ref>https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/antifa-ypg-pkk-ties-threaten-national-peace-in-west/1899520</ref> The PKK trained [[Antifa]] fighters in Northern [[Syria]].<ref>https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/war-on-terror/ypgpkk-recruited-foreign-fighters-from-antifa-groups-in-western-countries-report-says</ref>

[[File:Ankara panorama Turkey.jpg|thumb|center|700px|The capital Ankara.]]

{{Clear}}
===Principal government officials===
*President of the Republic — Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
*Vice President of the Republic — Fuat Oktay

===Foreign relations===
[[File:Turkish girls laughing in calimanesti.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Turkish dancers in a festival in [[Romania]].]]
Turkey's primary political, economic, and security ties are with the West, although some voices call for a more "Eurasian" orientation.

Turkey entered NATO in 1952 and serves as the organization's vital eastern anchor, controlling the straits leading from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and sharing a border with Syria, Iraq, and Iran. A NATO headquarters is located in Izmir. Besides its relationships with NATO and the EU, Turkey is a member of the OECD, the Council of Europe, and OSCE. Turkey also is a member of the UN and the Islamic Conference Organization (OIC). In December 1999, Turkey became a candidate for EU membership. On December 17, 2004, the EU decided to begin formal accession negotiations with Turkey in October 2005.

Turkey and the EU formed a customs union beginning January 1, 1996. The agreement covers industrial and processed agricultural goods. Turkey is harmonizing its laws and regulations with EU standards. Turkey adopted the EU's Common External Tariff regime, effectively lowering Turkey's tariffs for third countries, including the United States.

On October 3, 2005, Turkey and the EU reached agreement for Turkey to begin negotiations on accession to the European Union. Turkey and EU officials have begun the process of screening Turkey's laws and policies in order to begin negotiating the individual chapters required for ultimate EU accession. However, this admission request has not been without criticism,<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2420697.stm</ref> including:
*Serious human rights violations<ref>http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20070419-0809-italy-turkey-eu.html</ref>
*Refusal to admit genocide of [[Armenia]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6043730.stm</ref>
*Refusal to recognize [[Cyprus]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6153186.stm</ref>
*Only 3% of Turkey is in [[Europe]]
*Threat of increasing [[Islamic]] fundamentalism<ref>http://www.freemuslims.org/news/article.php?article=1761</ref>

Turkey opened and provisionally closed in 2006 one EU negotiating chapter on science and technology. Another chapter on statistics was opened in February 2007, and two more are expected to be opened by July 1, 2007. Eight chapters, mostly related to trade, were suspended by the European Council in December 2006 after Turkey declined to open its ports and airports to Cypriot vessels—a commitment Turkey made as part of the Ankara Protocol and its EU Customs Union membership.

Turkey is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It has signed free trade agreements with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Israel, and many other countries. In 1992 Turkey and 10 other regional nations formed the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Council to expand regional trade and economic cooperation. Turkey chaired BSEC in 2007 and hosted in Istanbul the 15th BSEC Summit in June 2007.

===Relations with the United States===
U.S.-Turkish friendship dates to the late 18th century and was officially sealed by a treaty in 1830. The present close relationship began with the agreement of July 12, 1947, which implemented the Truman Doctrine. As part of the cooperative effort to further Turkish economic and military self-reliance, the United States has loaned and granted Turkey more than $12.5 billion in economic aid and more than $14 billion in military assistance.

U.S.-Turkish relations focus on areas such as strategic energy cooperation, trade and investment, security ties, regional stability, the global war on terrorism, and human rights progress. Relations were strained when Turkey refused in March 2003 to allow U.S. troops to deploy through its territory to Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom, but regained momentum steadily thereafter and mutual interests remain strong across a wide spectrum of issues. On July 5, 2006, Secretary Rice and then-Foreign Minister Gül signed a Shared Vision Statement to highlight the common values and goals between our two countries and to lay out a framework for increased strategic dialogue.

The U.S. and Turkey have had a Joint Economic Commission and a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, which last met in Washington in April 2007, for several years. In 2002, the two countries indicated their joint intent to upgrade bilateral economic relations by launching an Economic Partnership Commission, which last convened in Ankara in February 2007. In 2006, Turkish exports to the U.S. totaled about $5.4 billion, and U.S. exports to Turkey totaled $5.7 billion.

[[Condoleezza Rice]] ones described Turkey as “a vital and strategic partner of the United States”. But since the tenure of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan these times are over.<ref>https://www.nationalreview.com/article/348422/erdo%C4%9Fan%E2%80%99s-agenda</ref> For example, he equated [[Zionism]] with [[Fascism]], [[John Kerry]] criticized him for this statement.<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/01/official-kerry-to-rap-turkey-pm-for-remark/</ref>

==Economy==
[[Image:Framed medallion Turkey.jpg|300px|thumb|Framed medallion.]]
Turkey is a large, middle-income country with relatively few natural resources. Its economy is currently in transition from a high degree of reliance on agriculture and heavy industrial economy to a more diversified economy with an increasingly large and globalized services sector. Coming out of a tradition of a state-directed economy that was relatively closed to the outside world, Prime Minister and then President Turgut Özal began to open up the economy in the 1980s, leading to the signing of a Customs Union with the European Union in 1995. In the 1990s, Turkey's economy suffered from a series of coalition governments with weak economic policies, leading to high-inflation boom-and-bust cycles that culminated in a severe banking and economic crisis in 2001 and a deep economic downturn (GNP fell 9.5% in 2001) and increase in unemployment.

Turkey's economy has recovered strongly from the 2001 thanks to good monetary and fiscal policies and structural economic reforms made with the support of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The independence of the Central Bank has been firmly established, a floating exchange rate system has been put in place, and the government's overall budget deficit has been substantially reduced. In addition, there have been substantial reforms in the financial, energy, and telecommunications sectors that have included the privatization of several large state-owned institutions.

Turkey's economy grew an average of 7.5% per year from 2002 through 2006—one of the highest sustained rates of growth in the world. It is expected to grow about 6.1% in 2007. Inflation and interest rates have fallen significantly, the currency has stabilized, government debt has declined to more supportable levels, and business and consumer confidence have returned. At the same time, booming economic growth has contributed to a growing current account deficit. Though Turkey's vulnerabilities have been greatly reduced, the economy could still face problems in the event there is a sudden change in investor sentiment that leads to a sharp fall in the exchange rate. Continued implementation of reforms, including tight fiscal policy, is essential to sustain growth and stability.

After years of low levels of foreign direct investment (FDI), in 2006, Turkey succeeded in attracting $18.9 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) and is expected to attract a similar level in 2007. A series of large privatizations, the stability fostered by the start of Turkey's EU accession negotiations, strong and stable growth, and structural changes in the banking, retail, and telecommunications sectors have all contributed to the rise in foreign investment. Turkey has taken steps to improve its investment climate through administrative streamlining, an end to foreign investment screening, and strengthened intellectual property legislation. However, a number of disputes involving foreign investors in Turkey and certain policies, such as high taxation and continuing gaps in the intellectual property regime, inhibit investment. Turkey has a number of bilateral investment and tax treaties, including with the United States, which guarantee free repatriation of capital in convertible currencies and eliminate double taxation.
*GDP: $750 billion (2020)
*GDP per capita: $8,824 (2020)
*Annual real GDP growth rate: (2004) (+) 8.9%; (2005) 7.4%; (2006) 6.0%.
*Annual inflation rate /CPI: (2003) 18.4%; (2004) 9.3%; (2005) 7.7%; (2006) 9.7%.
*Natural resources: Coal, chromium, mercury, copper, boron, oil, gold.
*Agriculture (10.8% of GNP): Major cash crops—cotton, sugar beets, hazelnuts, wheat, barley, and tobacco. Provides 26% of jobs and 4% of exports.
*Industry (25.4% of GNP): Major growth sector, types—automotive, electronics, food processing, textiles, basic metals, chemicals, and petrochemicals. Provides 20% of jobs.
*Trade: Exports (merchandise)--(2005) $73.1 billion; (2006) $83.5 billion: textiles and apparel, industrial machinery, iron and steel, electronics, petroleum products, and motor vehicles. Imports (merchandise)--(2005) $116 billion; (2006) 135.5 billion: petroleum, machinery, motor vehicles, electronics, iron and steel, plastics precious metals. Major partners—Germany, U.S., Italy, France, Russia, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, U.K.

====European Union accession====
Turkey's principal ongoing economic challenge is providing for the needs of a fast-growing, young population. Raising living standards to those prevalent in Europe will require high rates of GDP growth sustained over many years. This will entail continued structural reforms that encourage both domestic and foreign investment. Principal areas for reform identified by international financial intuitions include increasing flexibility in the labor market, making the educational sector more responsive to the needs of the economy and ensuring faster and more predictable operation of the judicial system. As an aspirant to membership in the European Union, Turkey aims to adopt the EU's basic system of national law and regulation (the acquis communautaire) by 2014. While implementing some elements of the acquis will be costly and difficult (for example in the areas of environmental protection and agriculture), its adoption will make a significant contribution to modernizing the economy.

====Energy====
[[File:Electric Energy Grid Turkey.jpg|thumb|360px|Electric Energy Grid.]]
Installed electricity generation capacity in Turkey reached 35,600 megawatts (MW) as of 2004. Fossil fuels account for 71% of the total installed capacity and hydro, geothermal, and wind account for the remaining 28%. The growth in electricity generation has remained below electricity demand until recently, which has made Turkey a net importer of electricity since 1997. The growth of energy demand slowed somewhat as a result of the 2001 economic crisis, but has picked up again. Turkish authorities expect a significant electricity shortfall unless new facilities become operational. The Government of Turkey took some important steps in 2001 to liberalize its energy sector, including passage of the Electricity Market Law and establishment of the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA). However, the government has moved slowly to follow through on plans to liberalize and privatize the electricity and natural gas sectors. In 2004, the High Planning Council approved the Electricity Sector Reform Strategy to renew the reform process.

Oil provides about 43% of Turkey's total energy requirements; around 90% is imported. Domestic production is mostly from small fields in the southeast. New exploration is taking place in the eastern Black Sea. In 2004, the Parliament approved a petroleum market reform bill that liberalized consumer prices and would lead to the privatization of the state refining company TUPRAS. TUPRAS was privatized in 2005, but this has been held up by court cases still in process. Turkey has a refining capacity of 802,275 barrels per day (b/d).

Turkey acts as an important link in the East-West Southern Energy Corridor bringing Caspian, Central Asian, and Middle Eastern energy to Europe and world markets. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which came online in July 2006, delivers 1 million b/d of petroleum, and in 2007, the South Caucasus Pipeline (from Shah Deniz) is expected to bring natural gas from Azerbaijan to Turkey. Turkey is building an interconnector pipeline to Greece, an important step in bringing Caspian natural gas to Europe via Turkey.

====Telecommunications====
[[File:Turk map.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Turkey map.]]
Parliament enacted legislation separating telecommunications policy and regulatory functions in January 2000, by establishing an independent regulatory body, the Telecommunication Authority. The Authority is responsible for issuing licenses, supervising operators, and taking necessary technical measures against violations of the rules. Most regulatory functions of the Transport Ministry were transferred to the Authority, and the regulator is slowly gaining competence and independence. The long-expected privatization of the state-owned telecommunications company was accomplished by the sale of 55% of Turk Telekom to the Saudi-owned Oger Group in November 2005. With liberalization and growth in the economy, there is growing competition for Internet provision, but Turk Telekom remains the sole provider of ADSL wide band Internet.

====Environment====
[[File:TurkishForest.jpg|thumb|left|280px|Turkish forest.]]
With the establishment of the Environment Ministry in 1991, Turkey began to make significant progress addressing its most pressing environmental problems. The most dramatic improvements were significant reductions of air pollution in Istanbul and Ankara. However, progress has been slow on the remaining—and serious—environmental challenges facing Turkey.

In 2003, the Ministry of Environment was merged with the Forestry Ministry. With its goal to join the EU, Turkey has made commendable progress in updating and modernizing its environmental legislation. However, environmental concerns are not fully integrated into public decision-making and enforcement can be weak. Turkey faces a backlog of environmental problems, requiring enormous outlays for infrastructure. The most pressing needs are for water treatment plants, wastewater treatment facilities, solid waste management, and conservation of biodiversity. The discovery of a number of chemical waste sites in 2006 has highlighted weakness in environmental law and oversight.
{{Clear}}

====Transportation====
The Turkish Government gives a special priority to major infrastructure projects, especially in the transport sector. The government is in the process of building new airports and highways, thanks to an increased public investment budget. The government will realize many of these projects by utilizing the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.

== See also ==
[[File:Blue mosque Istanbul Turkey.jpg|thumb|The Blue Mosque, Istanbul.]]
*[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]]
*[[Battle of Adrianople]]
*[[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]]
*[[Oriental art]]
*[[Göbekli Tepe]]
*[[Catal Huyuk|Çatalhöyük]]
{{Clear}}

== External links ==
*[http://bertschlossberg.blogspot.com/ A Turkish Delight: they think so in Israel also!]

==References==
{{reflist}}

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!colspan=2 style="width: 100%; text-align: center; background-color: #000088; color: white; "|'''Copyright Details'''
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|style=" background-color: none;"| This work is in the [[Public Domain]] in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the U.S. Code
|-
!style=" background-color: #000088; color:white;"|Source:
|style="background-color: none;border-top: 2px solid black"| File available from the {{{1|[[United States Federal Government]] [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3432.htm]}}}.
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{{Asian Countries}}

[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:NATO Members]]
[[Category:Turkey]]
[[Category:Muslim-Majority Countries]]

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

2022-01-22T14:59:16Z

Andrewlee: /* See also */

{{Dictator bio
| image =[[Image:Mustafa Kemal Ataturk 1919 Sivas Congress (cropped).jpg|200px]]
| name =Kemal Atatürk
| birth =1881 Salonica, Ottoman Macedonia, Ottoman Empire
| parents =Ali Rıza Efendi Zübeyde Hanım
| religion =[[Sunni]]sm (rejected) Atheist
| spouse =Latife Uşaklıgil (1923–1925)
| children =9 (adopted)
| death =November 10, 1938 Dolmabahçe Palace, Istanbul, Turkey
| deathmanner =Cirrhosis
| education =Ottoman War Academy Imperial Military Staff College
| country =[[Turkey]]
| military =Ottoman Army (1893–1919) Army of the Grand National Assembly (1920–1923) Turkish Army (1923–1927)
| rank =Major General (Ottoman Army) Marshal (Turkish Army)
| burial =Ethnography Museum, Ankara (November 21, 1938 – November 10, 1953) Anıtkabir, Ankara (since November 10, 1953)
| polbeliefs =[[Republicanism]] [[Nationalism]] [[Secularism]] [[Populism]] [[Statism]] [[Reform]]ism
| party =Republican People's Party (''Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi'')
| dictatordate =October 29, 1923
| war =Revolt against the Allies and the legal government in Constantinople ("Turkish War of Independence")
| deathnumber =264,000 Greek civilians 60,000–250,000 Armenian civilians Thousands of Ottomans supporting the legal Constantinople government
}}
'''Kemal Atatürk'''<ref>[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Atat%C3%BCrk%27%C3%BCn_993_814_seri_numaral%C4%B1_n%C3%BCfus_c%C3%BCzdan%C4%B1.jpg ID card from 1934]</ref> (or alternatively written as '''Kamâl Atatürk''';<ref>[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Atat%C3%BCrk%27%C3%BCn_993_815_seri_numaral%C4%B1_n%C3%BCfus_c%C3%BCzdan%C4%B1.jpg ID card from 1935]</ref> 1881 – November 10, 1938), also known as '''Mustafa Kemal Pasha''' ([[Turkish language|Turkish]]: ''Mustafa Kemal Paşa'') and often called '''Mustafa Kemal Atatürk''', was a Turkish military commander of the Ottoman Army during [[World War I]] and the founding father of the Turkish [[nation state]]. After the defeat of the [[Central Powers]] in World War I, he started a [[Nationalism|nationalist]] revolt against the legal Ottoman Imperial Government in [[Constantinople]] and the authorized Allied Powers. In this rebellion, he got stronger with the support of Ottoman army officers, politicians, and people. He won his war against Constantinople and the Allies, then founded the Republic of [[Turkey]]. He inspired [[Adolf Hitler]] with these actions.<ref>In his [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler%27s_Address_to_the_Reichstag_(4_May_1941) address to the Reichstag on May 4, 1941], [[Adolf Hitler]] said: {{cquote|"Turkey had been our ally in the [[World War I|World War]]. Its unfortunate result was as heavy a burden for Turkey as it was for us. The great and ingenious reconstructor of the new Turkey gave his Allies, beaten by fate, the first example of resurrection. While Turkey, thanks to the realistic attitude of her State leadership, preserved her independent attitude Yugoslavia fell a victim to British intrigues."}}</ref><ref>In a [https://www.docdroid.net/xaZwuc0/stefan-ihrig-ataturk-in-the-nazi-imagination-pdf#page=125 meeting with a delegation of Turkish politicians and journalists on April 20, 1938], Hitler said: {{cquote|"Atatürk was the first to show that it is possible to mobilize and regenerate the resources that a country has lost. In this respect Atatürk was a teacher; [[Benito Mussolini|Mussolini]] was his first and I his second student."}}</ref>

==Biography==
Atatürk was a successful division commander in the [[Battle of Gallipoli]]. The Allies defeated the [[Ottoman Empire]] and arranged for its partition. Thereupon, after a few congresses, he led an organized political resistance in Asia Minor by establishing a new assembly and government in [[Ankara]] (at that time Angora). Atatürk defeated the forces sent by the Allies, thus emerging victorious from what was later referred to as the "Turkish War of Independence" (in fact, this war was a revolt against the victorious Allied Powers of WWI and the legal government of the Ottoman Empire in [[Constantinople]]). Then he deposed the last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire in 1922 and became the first President of Turkey in 1923.

Atatürk led a political, legal, religious, cultural, social, and economic revolution that replaced some of the traditionalist and medieval social and political systems with ones that were modern, scientific (also nationalistic pseudoscientific), secularized, and based on the [[rationalism|rationalist]] [[Enlightenment]]. He abolished the [[caliphate]], a remnant of the former monarchy, and exiled the Ottoman dynasty from Turkey. Atatürk took all schools under the control of the Turkish government and abolished the privileges granted to foreigners. He carried out a [[nationalization]] policy in economy, a Turkish supremacist policy called "Turkish History Thesis" (''Türk Tarih Tezi'') in historiography, and a Turkicization policy against ethnic minorities. He changed the place names in Greek, Armenian, Kurdish, Zazaki, Arabic, Syriac, Yazidi, Laz, and Georgian languages to Turkish language (such as Constantinople became İstanbul, Smyrna became İzmir, and Angora became Ankara). It is estimated that most of Turks are [[Muslim]] (and most of them are conservative), but Atatürk established a [[secular]] rule based on a strong military. He abolished the [[sharia law]], outlawed [[polygamy]], and gave women equal rights including the right to vote and hold government positions. As a result of his efforts, Turkey was the only Muslim-majority country to independently hold democratic elections. [[Islamism|Islamists]] all over the world hate him because of his secularist reforms.<ref>Umut Azak: ''Islam and Secularism in Turkey: Kemalism, Religion and the Nation State.'' I.B.Tauris, 2010, p. 134.</ref> However, he inspired some Muslims, the moderate ones.<ref>{{cite book |author = M. Şükrü Hanioğlu |title = Atatürk: An Intellectual Biography |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dNFhZzug6tMC&pg=PA128 |accessdate = June 5, 2013 |date = May 9, 2011 |publisher = Princeton University Press |isbn = 978-1-4008-3817-2 |page = 128 }}</ref>

Atatürk read and was influenced by the works of [[Jean Jacques Rousseau]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=H-8wAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA197 The Rising Cresent: Turkey Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow]</ref> From September 9, 1923 to November 10, 1938, he was also leader of the Republican People's Party, the largest secularist political party in Turkey.

[[Samuel P. Huntington]] defines "Kemalism" as a response to attempts at "reconciliation of [[Islam]] and [[Modernization|modernity]]", or to modernize Islam without Westernization.

Harold C. Armstrong, a British army officer who was captured by the Ottomans in World War I, described Atatürk as follows:
<blockquote>''He is a man born out of due season, an anachronism, a throw-back to the Tartars of the Steppes, a fierce elemental force of a man. Had he been born in the centuries when all Central Asia was on the move he would have ridden out with Sulyman Shah under the banner of the Grey Wolf, and with the heart and instincts of a Grey Wolf. With his military genius, and his ruthless determination unweakened by sentiments, loyalties or moralities, he might well have been a [[Timur|Tamerlane]] or a [[Genghis Khan|Jenghis Khan]] riding at the head of great hordes of wild horsemen, conquering countries, devouring and destroying cities, and filling in the intervals of peace between campaigns with wild and hideous orgies of wine and women.'' [http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.201032/page/n333/mode/2up ''Grey Wolf: Mustafa Kemal – An intimate study of a dictator'' (fifth cheap edition, July 1935), p. 333]</blockquote>

On a Turkish website – The Turkish War of Independence and the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey:
<blockquote>''The National Assembly which first convened on 23 April 1920 in Ankara was the first clue to the Turkish Republic. The successful management of the War of Independence by this assembly accelerated the founding of the new Turkish State. On 1 November 1922, the offices of the Sultan and caliph were severed from one other and the former was abolished. There was no longer any administrative ties with the Ottoman Empire. On 29 October 1923, Turkish Republic was formally proclaimed and Atatürk was unanimously elected as its first President. On 30 October 1923, the first government of the Republic was formed by İsmet İnönü. Turkish Republic started to grow on the foundations of the twin principles "Sovereignty, unconditionally belongs to the nation" and "peace at home, peace in the world".'' [http://www.ataturk.com/content/view/24/43/ Biography of Atatürk]</blockquote>

== See also ==
*[[Meiji Restoration]]
*[[Enlightened despotism]]
*[[Adolf Hitler]]
*[[Benito Mussolini]]

== Bibliography ==
* Balfour, Patrick. ''Atatürk: The Rebirth of a Nation'' (1964).
* Çandar, Cengiz, and David Pryce-Jones. "Atatürk's Ambiguous Legacy." ''Wilson Quarterly'' 2000 24(4): 88-96. Issn: 0363-3276 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]
* Eissenstat, Howard. "History and Historiography: Politics and Memory in the Turkish Republic." ''Contemporary European History'' 2003 12(1): 93-105. Issn: 0960-7773 Fulltext: in Cambridge journals.
* Karpat, Kemal H. "The Personality of Atatürk," ''The American Historical Review'', Vol. 90, No. 4 (Oct., 1985), pp. 893–899 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-8762(198510)90%3A4%3C893%3ATPOA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Q in JSTOR]
* Kazancıgil, Ali and Özbudun, Ergün, eds. ''Atatürk: Founder of a Modern State.'' Archon, 1982. 243 pp.
* Kedourie, Sylvia, ed. ''Seventy-Five Years of the Turkish Republic.'' (1999). 237 pp.
* Kedourie, Sylvia. ''Turkey Before and After Atatürk: Internal and External Affairs'' (1989) 282pp; [https://books.google.com/books?id=OXRnTgmrmC0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:ataturk&num=30&as_brr=0&sig=dFTndXR43BukG1RtrNY4GvrcTeo excerpts and text search]
* Kinross, Patrick. ''Atatürk: The Rebirth of a Nation'' (1965) 615pp
* Macfie, A.L. ''Atatürk'' (1995) 275pp [https://www.amazon.com/Ataturk-Profiles-Power-L-Macfie/dp/0582078636/ref=cm_lmf_img_3 excerpt and text search]
* Mango, Andrew. ''Atatürk: The Biography of the Founder of Modern Turkey'' (1999) [https://www.amazon.com/Ataturk-Biography-founder-Modern-Turkey/dp/158567334X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196105830&sr=8-1rpt and text search]
* Tachau, Frank. ''Kemal Atatürk'' (1987)
* Trask, Roger R. "The United States and Turkish Nationalism: Investments and Technical Aid during the Atatürk Era," ''Business History Review,'' Vol. 38, No. 1, International Government-Business Issue (Spring, 1964), pp. 58–77 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0007-6805(196421)38%3A1%3C58%3ATUSATN%3E2.0.CO%3B2-D in JSTOR]
* Volkan, Vamık D., and Norman Itzko. ''The Immortal Atatürk – A Psychobiography'' (1984)
* Weiker, Walter F. ''The Modernization of Turkey: From Atatürk to the Present Day'' (1981) [http://www.questia.com/read/43183327 online edition]

==References==
{{reflist|1}}

== External links ==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YVXs1LAenA A biography of Atatürk]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9EkewZea3k Incredible Turk (1958) – The first documentary on Atatürk]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RfCGap0Pic John F. Kennedy – Speech about Atatürk]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeuDssLUOwY Greek Genocide song – Kemal (English subs)]
*[https://www.docdroid.net/xaZwuc0/stefan-ihrig-ataturk-in-the-nazi-imagination-pdf Stefan Ihrig – Atatürk in the Nazi Imagination]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atatürk, Mustafa Kemal}}

[[Category:Turkey]]
[[Category:World War I]]
[[Category:Military Commanders]]
[[Category:Heads of Government]]
[[Category:Heads of State]]
[[Category:Nationalists]]
[[Category:Dictators]]
[[Category:Atheists]]

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

2022-01-22T14:11:40Z

Andrewlee: /* External links */

{{Dictator bio
| image =[[Image:Mustafa Kemal Ataturk 1919 Sivas Congress (cropped).jpg|200px]]
| name =Kemal Atatürk
| birth =1881 Salonica, Ottoman Macedonia, Ottoman Empire
| parents =Ali Rıza Efendi Zübeyde Hanım
| religion =[[Sunni]]sm (rejected) Atheist
| spouse =Latife Uşaklıgil (1923–1925)
| children =9 (adopted)
| death =November 10, 1938 Dolmabahçe Palace, Istanbul, Turkey
| deathmanner =Cirrhosis
| education =Ottoman War Academy Imperial Military Staff College
| country =[[Turkey]]
| military =Ottoman Army (1893–1919) Army of the Grand National Assembly (1920–1923) Turkish Army (1923–1927)
| rank =Major General (Ottoman Army) Marshal (Turkish Army)
| burial =Ethnography Museum, Ankara (November 21, 1938 – November 10, 1953) Anıtkabir, Ankara (since November 10, 1953)
| polbeliefs =[[Republicanism]] [[Nationalism]] [[Secularism]] [[Populism]] [[Statism]] [[Reform]]ism
| party =Republican People's Party (''Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi'')
| dictatordate =October 29, 1923
| war =Revolt against the Allies and the legal government in Constantinople ("Turkish War of Independence")
| deathnumber =264,000 Greek civilians 60,000–250,000 Armenian civilians Thousands of Ottomans supporting the legal Constantinople government
}}
'''Kemal Atatürk'''<ref>[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Atat%C3%BCrk%27%C3%BCn_993_814_seri_numaral%C4%B1_n%C3%BCfus_c%C3%BCzdan%C4%B1.jpg ID card from 1934]</ref> (or alternatively written as '''Kamâl Atatürk''';<ref>[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Atat%C3%BCrk%27%C3%BCn_993_815_seri_numaral%C4%B1_n%C3%BCfus_c%C3%BCzdan%C4%B1.jpg ID card from 1935]</ref> 1881 – November 10, 1938), also known as '''Mustafa Kemal Pasha''' ([[Turkish language|Turkish]]: ''Mustafa Kemal Paşa'') and often called '''Mustafa Kemal Atatürk''', was a Turkish military commander of the Ottoman Army during [[World War I]] and the founding father of the Turkish [[nation state]]. After the defeat of the [[Central Powers]] in World War I, he started a [[Nationalism|nationalist]] revolt against the legal Ottoman Imperial Government in [[Constantinople]] and the authorized Allied Powers. In this rebellion, he got stronger with the support of Ottoman army officers, politicians, and people. He won his war against Constantinople and the Allies, then founded the Republic of [[Turkey]]. He inspired [[Adolf Hitler]] with these actions.<ref>In his [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler%27s_Address_to_the_Reichstag_(4_May_1941) address to the Reichstag on May 4, 1941], [[Adolf Hitler]] said: {{cquote|"Turkey had been our ally in the [[World War I|World War]]. Its unfortunate result was as heavy a burden for Turkey as it was for us. The great and ingenious reconstructor of the new Turkey gave his Allies, beaten by fate, the first example of resurrection. While Turkey, thanks to the realistic attitude of her State leadership, preserved her independent attitude Yugoslavia fell a victim to British intrigues."}}</ref><ref>In a [https://www.docdroid.net/xaZwuc0/stefan-ihrig-ataturk-in-the-nazi-imagination-pdf#page=125 meeting with a delegation of Turkish politicians and journalists on April 20, 1938], Hitler said: {{cquote|"Atatürk was the first to show that it is possible to mobilize and regenerate the resources that a country has lost. In this respect Atatürk was a teacher; [[Benito Mussolini|Mussolini]] was his first and I his second student."}}</ref>

==Biography==
Atatürk was a successful division commander in the [[Battle of Gallipoli]]. The Allies defeated the [[Ottoman Empire]] and arranged for its partition. Thereupon, after a few congresses, he led an organized political resistance in Asia Minor by establishing a new assembly and government in [[Ankara]] (at that time Angora). Atatürk defeated the forces sent by the Allies, thus emerging victorious from what was later referred to as the "Turkish War of Independence" (in fact, this war was a revolt against the victorious Allied Powers of WWI and the legal government of the Ottoman Empire in [[Constantinople]]). Then he deposed the last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire in 1922 and became the first President of Turkey in 1923.

Atatürk led a political, legal, religious, cultural, social, and economic revolution that replaced some of the traditionalist and medieval social and political systems with ones that were modern, scientific (also nationalistic pseudoscientific), secularized, and based on the [[rationalism|rationalist]] [[Enlightenment]]. He abolished the [[caliphate]], a remnant of the former monarchy, and exiled the Ottoman dynasty from Turkey. Atatürk took all schools under the control of the Turkish government and abolished the privileges granted to foreigners. He carried out a [[nationalization]] policy in economy, a Turkish supremacist policy called "Turkish History Thesis" (''Türk Tarih Tezi'') in historiography, and a Turkicization policy against ethnic minorities. He changed the place names in Greek, Armenian, Kurdish, Zazaki, Arabic, Syriac, Yazidi, Laz, and Georgian languages to Turkish language (such as Constantinople became İstanbul, Smyrna became İzmir, and Angora became Ankara). It is estimated that most of Turks are [[Muslim]] (and most of them are conservative), but Atatürk established a [[secular]] rule based on a strong military. He abolished the [[sharia law]], outlawed [[polygamy]], and gave women equal rights including the right to vote and hold government positions. As a result of his efforts, Turkey was the only Muslim-majority country to independently hold democratic elections. [[Islamism|Islamists]] all over the world hate him because of his secularist reforms.<ref>Umut Azak: ''Islam and Secularism in Turkey: Kemalism, Religion and the Nation State.'' I.B.Tauris, 2010, p. 134.</ref> However, he inspired some Muslims, the moderate ones.<ref>{{cite book |author = M. Şükrü Hanioğlu |title = Atatürk: An Intellectual Biography |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dNFhZzug6tMC&pg=PA128 |accessdate = June 5, 2013 |date = May 9, 2011 |publisher = Princeton University Press |isbn = 978-1-4008-3817-2 |page = 128 }}</ref>

Atatürk read and was influenced by the works of [[Jean Jacques Rousseau]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=H-8wAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA197 The Rising Cresent: Turkey Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow]</ref> From September 9, 1923 to November 10, 1938, he was also leader of the Republican People's Party, the largest secularist political party in Turkey.

[[Samuel P. Huntington]] defines "Kemalism" as a response to attempts at "reconciliation of [[Islam]] and [[Modernization|modernity]]", or to modernize Islam without Westernization.

Harold C. Armstrong, a British army officer who was captured by the Ottomans in World War I, described Atatürk as follows:
<blockquote>''He is a man born out of due season, an anachronism, a throw-back to the Tartars of the Steppes, a fierce elemental force of a man. Had he been born in the centuries when all Central Asia was on the move he would have ridden out with Sulyman Shah under the banner of the Grey Wolf, and with the heart and instincts of a Grey Wolf. With his military genius, and his ruthless determination unweakened by sentiments, loyalties or moralities, he might well have been a [[Timur|Tamerlane]] or a [[Genghis Khan|Jenghis Khan]] riding at the head of great hordes of wild horsemen, conquering countries, devouring and destroying cities, and filling in the intervals of peace between campaigns with wild and hideous orgies of wine and women.'' [http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.201032/page/n333/mode/2up ''Grey Wolf: Mustafa Kemal – An intimate study of a dictator'' (fifth cheap edition, July 1935), p. 333]</blockquote>

On a Turkish website – The Turkish War of Independence and the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey:
<blockquote>''The National Assembly which first convened on 23 April 1920 in Ankara was the first clue to the Turkish Republic. The successful management of the War of Independence by this assembly accelerated the founding of the new Turkish State. On 1 November 1922, the offices of the Sultan and caliph were severed from one other and the former was abolished. There was no longer any administrative ties with the Ottoman Empire. On 29 October 1923, Turkish Republic was formally proclaimed and Atatürk was unanimously elected as its first President. On 30 October 1923, the first government of the Republic was formed by İsmet İnönü. Turkish Republic started to grow on the foundations of the twin principles "Sovereignty, unconditionally belongs to the nation" and "peace at home, peace in the world".'' [http://www.ataturk.com/content/view/24/43/ Biography of Atatürk]</blockquote>

== See also ==
*[[Meiji Restoration]]
*[[Enlightened despotism]]
*[[Adolf Hitler]]
*[[Benito Mussolini]]
*[[Gamal Abdel Nasser]]
*[[Pervez Musharraf]]

== Bibliography ==
* Balfour, Patrick. ''Atatürk: The Rebirth of a Nation'' (1964).
* Çandar, Cengiz, and David Pryce-Jones. "Atatürk's Ambiguous Legacy." ''Wilson Quarterly'' 2000 24(4): 88-96. Issn: 0363-3276 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]
* Eissenstat, Howard. "History and Historiography: Politics and Memory in the Turkish Republic." ''Contemporary European History'' 2003 12(1): 93-105. Issn: 0960-7773 Fulltext: in Cambridge journals.
* Karpat, Kemal H. "The Personality of Atatürk," ''The American Historical Review'', Vol. 90, No. 4 (Oct., 1985), pp. 893–899 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-8762(198510)90%3A4%3C893%3ATPOA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Q in JSTOR]
* Kazancıgil, Ali and Özbudun, Ergün, eds. ''Atatürk: Founder of a Modern State.'' Archon, 1982. 243 pp.
* Kedourie, Sylvia, ed. ''Seventy-Five Years of the Turkish Republic.'' (1999). 237 pp.
* Kedourie, Sylvia. ''Turkey Before and After Atatürk: Internal and External Affairs'' (1989) 282pp; [https://books.google.com/books?id=OXRnTgmrmC0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:ataturk&num=30&as_brr=0&sig=dFTndXR43BukG1RtrNY4GvrcTeo excerpts and text search]
* Kinross, Patrick. ''Atatürk: The Rebirth of a Nation'' (1965) 615pp
* Macfie, A.L. ''Atatürk'' (1995) 275pp [https://www.amazon.com/Ataturk-Profiles-Power-L-Macfie/dp/0582078636/ref=cm_lmf_img_3 excerpt and text search]
* Mango, Andrew. ''Atatürk: The Biography of the Founder of Modern Turkey'' (1999) [https://www.amazon.com/Ataturk-Biography-founder-Modern-Turkey/dp/158567334X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196105830&sr=8-1rpt and text search]
* Tachau, Frank. ''Kemal Atatürk'' (1987)
* Trask, Roger R. "The United States and Turkish Nationalism: Investments and Technical Aid during the Atatürk Era," ''Business History Review,'' Vol. 38, No. 1, International Government-Business Issue (Spring, 1964), pp. 58–77 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0007-6805(196421)38%3A1%3C58%3ATUSATN%3E2.0.CO%3B2-D in JSTOR]
* Volkan, Vamık D., and Norman Itzko. ''The Immortal Atatürk – A Psychobiography'' (1984)
* Weiker, Walter F. ''The Modernization of Turkey: From Atatürk to the Present Day'' (1981) [http://www.questia.com/read/43183327 online edition]

==References==
{{reflist|1}}

== External links ==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YVXs1LAenA A biography of Atatürk]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9EkewZea3k Incredible Turk (1958) – The first documentary on Atatürk]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RfCGap0Pic John F. Kennedy – Speech about Atatürk]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeuDssLUOwY Greek Genocide song – Kemal (English subs)]
*[https://www.docdroid.net/xaZwuc0/stefan-ihrig-ataturk-in-the-nazi-imagination-pdf Stefan Ihrig – Atatürk in the Nazi Imagination]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atatürk, Mustafa Kemal}}

[[Category:Turkey]]
[[Category:World War I]]
[[Category:Military Commanders]]
[[Category:Heads of Government]]
[[Category:Heads of State]]
[[Category:Nationalists]]
[[Category:Dictators]]
[[Category:Atheists]]

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

2022-01-22T14:11:29Z

Andrewlee:

{{Dictator bio
| image =[[Image:Mustafa Kemal Ataturk 1919 Sivas Congress (cropped).jpg|200px]]
| name =Kemal Atatürk
| birth =1881 Salonica, Ottoman Macedonia, Ottoman Empire
| parents =Ali Rıza Efendi Zübeyde Hanım
| religion =[[Sunni]]sm (rejected) Atheist
| spouse =Latife Uşaklıgil (1923–1925)
| children =9 (adopted)
| death =November 10, 1938 Dolmabahçe Palace, Istanbul, Turkey
| deathmanner =Cirrhosis
| education =Ottoman War Academy Imperial Military Staff College
| country =[[Turkey]]
| military =Ottoman Army (1893–1919) Army of the Grand National Assembly (1920–1923) Turkish Army (1923–1927)
| rank =Major General (Ottoman Army) Marshal (Turkish Army)
| burial =Ethnography Museum, Ankara (November 21, 1938 – November 10, 1953) Anıtkabir, Ankara (since November 10, 1953)
| polbeliefs =[[Republicanism]] [[Nationalism]] [[Secularism]] [[Populism]] [[Statism]] [[Reform]]ism
| party =Republican People's Party (''Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi'')
| dictatordate =October 29, 1923
| war =Revolt against the Allies and the legal government in Constantinople ("Turkish War of Independence")
| deathnumber =264,000 Greek civilians 60,000–250,000 Armenian civilians Thousands of Ottomans supporting the legal Constantinople government
}}
'''Kemal Atatürk'''<ref>[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Atat%C3%BCrk%27%C3%BCn_993_814_seri_numaral%C4%B1_n%C3%BCfus_c%C3%BCzdan%C4%B1.jpg ID card from 1934]</ref> (or alternatively written as '''Kamâl Atatürk''';<ref>[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Atat%C3%BCrk%27%C3%BCn_993_815_seri_numaral%C4%B1_n%C3%BCfus_c%C3%BCzdan%C4%B1.jpg ID card from 1935]</ref> 1881 – November 10, 1938), also known as '''Mustafa Kemal Pasha''' ([[Turkish language|Turkish]]: ''Mustafa Kemal Paşa'') and often called '''Mustafa Kemal Atatürk''', was a Turkish military commander of the Ottoman Army during [[World War I]] and the founding father of the Turkish [[nation state]]. After the defeat of the [[Central Powers]] in World War I, he started a [[Nationalism|nationalist]] revolt against the legal Ottoman Imperial Government in [[Constantinople]] and the authorized Allied Powers. In this rebellion, he got stronger with the support of Ottoman army officers, politicians, and people. He won his war against Constantinople and the Allies, then founded the Republic of [[Turkey]]. He inspired [[Adolf Hitler]] with these actions.<ref>In his [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler%27s_Address_to_the_Reichstag_(4_May_1941) address to the Reichstag on May 4, 1941], [[Adolf Hitler]] said: {{cquote|"Turkey had been our ally in the [[World War I|World War]]. Its unfortunate result was as heavy a burden for Turkey as it was for us. The great and ingenious reconstructor of the new Turkey gave his Allies, beaten by fate, the first example of resurrection. While Turkey, thanks to the realistic attitude of her State leadership, preserved her independent attitude Yugoslavia fell a victim to British intrigues."}}</ref><ref>In a [https://www.docdroid.net/xaZwuc0/stefan-ihrig-ataturk-in-the-nazi-imagination-pdf#page=125 meeting with a delegation of Turkish politicians and journalists on April 20, 1938], Hitler said: {{cquote|"Atatürk was the first to show that it is possible to mobilize and regenerate the resources that a country has lost. In this respect Atatürk was a teacher; [[Benito Mussolini|Mussolini]] was his first and I his second student."}}</ref>

==Biography==
Atatürk was a successful division commander in the [[Battle of Gallipoli]]. The Allies defeated the [[Ottoman Empire]] and arranged for its partition. Thereupon, after a few congresses, he led an organized political resistance in Asia Minor by establishing a new assembly and government in [[Ankara]] (at that time Angora). Atatürk defeated the forces sent by the Allies, thus emerging victorious from what was later referred to as the "Turkish War of Independence" (in fact, this war was a revolt against the victorious Allied Powers of WWI and the legal government of the Ottoman Empire in [[Constantinople]]). Then he deposed the last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire in 1922 and became the first President of Turkey in 1923.

Atatürk led a political, legal, religious, cultural, social, and economic revolution that replaced some of the traditionalist and medieval social and political systems with ones that were modern, scientific (also nationalistic pseudoscientific), secularized, and based on the [[rationalism|rationalist]] [[Enlightenment]]. He abolished the [[caliphate]], a remnant of the former monarchy, and exiled the Ottoman dynasty from Turkey. Atatürk took all schools under the control of the Turkish government and abolished the privileges granted to foreigners. He carried out a [[nationalization]] policy in economy, a Turkish supremacist policy called "Turkish History Thesis" (''Türk Tarih Tezi'') in historiography, and a Turkicization policy against ethnic minorities. He changed the place names in Greek, Armenian, Kurdish, Zazaki, Arabic, Syriac, Yazidi, Laz, and Georgian languages to Turkish language (such as Constantinople became İstanbul, Smyrna became İzmir, and Angora became Ankara). It is estimated that most of Turks are [[Muslim]] (and most of them are conservative), but Atatürk established a [[secular]] rule based on a strong military. He abolished the [[sharia law]], outlawed [[polygamy]], and gave women equal rights including the right to vote and hold government positions. As a result of his efforts, Turkey was the only Muslim-majority country to independently hold democratic elections. [[Islamism|Islamists]] all over the world hate him because of his secularist reforms.<ref>Umut Azak: ''Islam and Secularism in Turkey: Kemalism, Religion and the Nation State.'' I.B.Tauris, 2010, p. 134.</ref> However, he inspired some Muslims, the moderate ones.<ref>{{cite book |author = M. Şükrü Hanioğlu |title = Atatürk: An Intellectual Biography |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dNFhZzug6tMC&pg=PA128 |accessdate = June 5, 2013 |date = May 9, 2011 |publisher = Princeton University Press |isbn = 978-1-4008-3817-2 |page = 128 }}</ref>

Atatürk read and was influenced by the works of [[Jean Jacques Rousseau]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=H-8wAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA197 The Rising Cresent: Turkey Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow]</ref> From September 9, 1923 to November 10, 1938, he was also leader of the Republican People's Party, the largest secularist political party in Turkey.

[[Samuel P. Huntington]] defines "Kemalism" as a response to attempts at "reconciliation of [[Islam]] and [[Modernization|modernity]]", or to modernize Islam without Westernization.

Harold C. Armstrong, a British army officer who was captured by the Ottomans in World War I, described Atatürk as follows:
<blockquote>''He is a man born out of due season, an anachronism, a throw-back to the Tartars of the Steppes, a fierce elemental force of a man. Had he been born in the centuries when all Central Asia was on the move he would have ridden out with Sulyman Shah under the banner of the Grey Wolf, and with the heart and instincts of a Grey Wolf. With his military genius, and his ruthless determination unweakened by sentiments, loyalties or moralities, he might well have been a [[Timur|Tamerlane]] or a [[Genghis Khan|Jenghis Khan]] riding at the head of great hordes of wild horsemen, conquering countries, devouring and destroying cities, and filling in the intervals of peace between campaigns with wild and hideous orgies of wine and women.'' [http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.201032/page/n333/mode/2up ''Grey Wolf: Mustafa Kemal – An intimate study of a dictator'' (fifth cheap edition, July 1935), p. 333]</blockquote>

On a Turkish website – The Turkish War of Independence and the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey:
<blockquote>''The National Assembly which first convened on 23 April 1920 in Ankara was the first clue to the Turkish Republic. The successful management of the War of Independence by this assembly accelerated the founding of the new Turkish State. On 1 November 1922, the offices of the Sultan and caliph were severed from one other and the former was abolished. There was no longer any administrative ties with the Ottoman Empire. On 29 October 1923, Turkish Republic was formally proclaimed and Atatürk was unanimously elected as its first President. On 30 October 1923, the first government of the Republic was formed by İsmet İnönü. Turkish Republic started to grow on the foundations of the twin principles "Sovereignty, unconditionally belongs to the nation" and "peace at home, peace in the world".'' [http://www.ataturk.com/content/view/24/43/ Biography of Atatürk]</blockquote>

== See also ==
*[[Meiji Restoration]]
*[[Enlightened despotism]]
*[[Adolf Hitler]]
*[[Benito Mussolini]]
*[[Gamal Abdel Nasser]]
*[[Pervez Musharraf]]

== Bibliography ==
* Balfour, Patrick. ''Atatürk: The Rebirth of a Nation'' (1964).
* Çandar, Cengiz, and David Pryce-Jones. "Atatürk's Ambiguous Legacy." ''Wilson Quarterly'' 2000 24(4): 88-96. Issn: 0363-3276 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]
* Eissenstat, Howard. "History and Historiography: Politics and Memory in the Turkish Republic." ''Contemporary European History'' 2003 12(1): 93-105. Issn: 0960-7773 Fulltext: in Cambridge journals.
* Karpat, Kemal H. "The Personality of Atatürk," ''The American Historical Review'', Vol. 90, No. 4 (Oct., 1985), pp. 893–899 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-8762(198510)90%3A4%3C893%3ATPOA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Q in JSTOR]
* Kazancıgil, Ali and Özbudun, Ergün, eds. ''Atatürk: Founder of a Modern State.'' Archon, 1982. 243 pp.
* Kedourie, Sylvia, ed. ''Seventy-Five Years of the Turkish Republic.'' (1999). 237 pp.
* Kedourie, Sylvia. ''Turkey Before and After Atatürk: Internal and External Affairs'' (1989) 282pp; [https://books.google.com/books?id=OXRnTgmrmC0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:ataturk&num=30&as_brr=0&sig=dFTndXR43BukG1RtrNY4GvrcTeo excerpts and text search]
* Kinross, Patrick. ''Atatürk: The Rebirth of a Nation'' (1965) 615pp
* Macfie, A.L. ''Atatürk'' (1995) 275pp [https://www.amazon.com/Ataturk-Profiles-Power-L-Macfie/dp/0582078636/ref=cm_lmf_img_3 excerpt and text search]
* Mango, Andrew. ''Atatürk: The Biography of the Founder of Modern Turkey'' (1999) [https://www.amazon.com/Ataturk-Biography-founder-Modern-Turkey/dp/158567334X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196105830&sr=8-1rpt and text search]
* Tachau, Frank. ''Kemal Atatürk'' (1987)
* Trask, Roger R. "The United States and Turkish Nationalism: Investments and Technical Aid during the Atatürk Era," ''Business History Review,'' Vol. 38, No. 1, International Government-Business Issue (Spring, 1964), pp. 58–77 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0007-6805(196421)38%3A1%3C58%3ATUSATN%3E2.0.CO%3B2-D in JSTOR]
* Volkan, Vamık D., and Norman Itzko. ''The Immortal Atatürk – A Psychobiography'' (1984)
* Weiker, Walter F. ''The Modernization of Turkey: From Atatürk to the Present Day'' (1981) [http://www.questia.com/read/43183327 online edition]

==References==
{{reflist|1}}

== External links ==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YVXs1LAenA A biography of Atatürk]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9EkewZea3k Incredible Turk (1958) – The first documentary on Atatürk]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RfCGap0Pic John F. Kennedy – Speech about Atatürk]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeuDssLUOwY Greek Genocide song – Kemal (English subs)]
*[https://www.docdroid.net/xaZwuc0/stefan-ihrig-ataturk-in-the-nazi-imagination-pdf#page=125 Stefan Ihrig – Atatürk in the Nazi Imagination]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atatürk, Mustafa Kemal}}

[[Category:Turkey]]
[[Category:World War I]]
[[Category:Military Commanders]]
[[Category:Heads of Government]]
[[Category:Heads of State]]
[[Category:Nationalists]]
[[Category:Dictators]]
[[Category:Atheists]]

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

2022-01-22T14:10:01Z

Andrewlee:

{{Dictator bio
| image =[[Image:Mustafa Kemal Ataturk 1919 Sivas Congress (cropped).jpg|200px]]
| name =Kemal Atatürk
| birth =1881 Salonica, Ottoman Macedonia, Ottoman Empire
| parents =Ali Rıza Efendi Zübeyde Hanım
| religion =[[Sunni]]sm (rejected) Atheist
| spouse =Latife Uşaklıgil (1923–1925)
| children =9 (adopted)
| death =November 10, 1938 Dolmabahçe Palace, Istanbul, Turkey
| deathmanner =Cirrhosis
| education =Ottoman War Academy Imperial Military Staff College
| country =[[Turkey]]
| military =Ottoman Army (1893–1919) Army of the Grand National Assembly (1920–1923) Turkish Army (1923–1927)
| rank =Major General (Ottoman Army) Marshal (Turkish Army)
| burial =Ethnography Museum, Ankara (November 21, 1938 – November 10, 1953) Anıtkabir, Ankara (since November 10, 1953)
| polbeliefs =[[Republicanism]] [[Nationalism]] [[Secularism]] [[Populism]] [[Statism]] [[Reform]]ism
| party =Republican People's Party (''Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi'')
| dictatordate =October 29, 1923
| war =Revolt against the Allies and the legal government in Constantinople ("Turkish War of Independence")
| deathnumber =264,000 Greek civilians 60,000–250,000 Armenian civilians Thousands of Ottomans supporting the legal Constantinople government
}}
'''Kemal Atatürk'''<ref>[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Atat%C3%BCrk%27%C3%BCn_993_814_seri_numaral%C4%B1_n%C3%BCfus_c%C3%BCzdan%C4%B1.jpg ID card from 1934]</ref> (or alternatively written as '''Kamâl Atatürk''';<ref>[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Atat%C3%BCrk%27%C3%BCn_993_815_seri_numaral%C4%B1_n%C3%BCfus_c%C3%BCzdan%C4%B1.jpg ID card from 1935]</ref> 1881 – November 10, 1938), also known as '''Mustafa Kemal Pasha''' ([[Turkish language|Turkish]]: ''Mustafa Kemal Paşa'') and often called '''Mustafa Kemal Atatürk''', was a Turkish military commander of the Ottoman Army during [[World War I]] and the founding father of the Turkish [[nation state]]. After the defeat of the [[Central Powers]] in World War I, he started a [[Nationalism|nationalist]] revolt against the legal Ottoman Imperial Government in [[Constantinople]] and the authorized Allied Powers. In this rebellion, he got stronger with the support of Ottoman army officers, politicians, and people. He won his war against Constantinople and the Allies, then founded the Republic of [[Turkey]]. He inspired [[Adolf Hitler]] with these actions.<ref>In his [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler%27s_Address_to_the_Reichstag_(4_May_1941) address to the Reichstag on May 4, 1941], [[Adolf Hitler]] said: {{cquote|"Turkey had been our ally in the [[World War I|World War]]. Its unfortunate result was as heavy a burden for Turkey as it was for us. The great and ingenious reconstructor of the new Turkey gave his Allies, beaten by fate, the first example of resurrection. While Turkey, thanks to the realistic attitude of her State leadership, preserved her independent attitude Yugoslavia fell a victim to British intrigues."}}</ref><ref>In a [https://archive.org/details/stefan-ihrig-ataturk-in-the-nazi-imagination/page/116/mode/2up meeting with a delegation of Turkish politicians and journalists on April 20, 1938], Hitler said: {{cquote|"Atatürk was the first to show that it is possible to mobilize and regenerate the resources that a country has lost. In this respect Atatürk was a teacher; [[Benito Mussolini|Mussolini]] was his first and I his second student."}}</ref>

==Biography==
Atatürk was a successful division commander in the [[Battle of Gallipoli]]. The Allies defeated the [[Ottoman Empire]] and arranged for its partition. Thereupon, after a few congresses, he led an organized political resistance in Asia Minor by establishing a new assembly and government in [[Ankara]] (at that time Angora). Atatürk defeated the forces sent by the Allies, thus emerging victorious from what was later referred to as the "Turkish War of Independence" (in fact, this war was a revolt against the victorious Allied Powers of WWI and the legal government of the Ottoman Empire in [[Constantinople]]). Then he deposed the last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire in 1922 and became the first President of Turkey in 1923.

Atatürk led a political, legal, religious, cultural, social, and economic revolution that replaced some of the traditionalist and medieval social and political systems with ones that were modern, scientific (also nationalistic pseudoscientific), secularized, and based on the [[rationalism|rationalist]] [[Enlightenment]]. He abolished the [[caliphate]], a remnant of the former monarchy, and exiled the Ottoman dynasty from Turkey. Atatürk took all schools under the control of the Turkish government and abolished the privileges granted to foreigners. He carried out a [[nationalization]] policy in economy, a Turkish supremacist policy called "Turkish History Thesis" (''Türk Tarih Tezi'') in historiography, and a Turkicization policy against ethnic minorities. He changed the place names in Greek, Armenian, Kurdish, Zazaki, Arabic, Syriac, Yazidi, Laz, and Georgian languages to Turkish language (such as Constantinople became İstanbul, Smyrna became İzmir, and Angora became Ankara). It is estimated that most of Turks are [[Muslim]] (and most of them are conservative), but Atatürk established a [[secular]] rule based on a strong military. He abolished the [[sharia law]], outlawed [[polygamy]], and gave women equal rights including the right to vote and hold government positions. As a result of his efforts, Turkey was the only Muslim-majority country to independently hold democratic elections. [[Islamism|Islamists]] all over the world hate him because of his secularist reforms.<ref>Umut Azak: ''Islam and Secularism in Turkey: Kemalism, Religion and the Nation State.'' I.B.Tauris, 2010, p. 134.</ref> However, he inspired some Muslims, the moderate ones.<ref>{{cite book |author = M. Şükrü Hanioğlu |title = Atatürk: An Intellectual Biography |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dNFhZzug6tMC&pg=PA128 |accessdate = June 5, 2013 |date = May 9, 2011 |publisher = Princeton University Press |isbn = 978-1-4008-3817-2 |page = 128 }}</ref>

Atatürk read and was influenced by the works of [[Jean Jacques Rousseau]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=H-8wAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA197 The Rising Cresent: Turkey Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow]</ref> From September 9, 1923 to November 10, 1938, he was also leader of the Republican People's Party, the largest secularist political party in Turkey.

[[Samuel P. Huntington]] defines "Kemalism" as a response to attempts at "reconciliation of [[Islam]] and [[Modernization|modernity]]", or to modernize Islam without Westernization.

Harold C. Armstrong, a British army officer who was captured by the Ottomans in World War I, described Atatürk as follows:
<blockquote>''He is a man born out of due season, an anachronism, a throw-back to the Tartars of the Steppes, a fierce elemental force of a man. Had he been born in the centuries when all Central Asia was on the move he would have ridden out with Sulyman Shah under the banner of the Grey Wolf, and with the heart and instincts of a Grey Wolf. With his military genius, and his ruthless determination unweakened by sentiments, loyalties or moralities, he might well have been a [[Timur|Tamerlane]] or a [[Genghis Khan|Jenghis Khan]] riding at the head of great hordes of wild horsemen, conquering countries, devouring and destroying cities, and filling in the intervals of peace between campaigns with wild and hideous orgies of wine and women.'' [http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.201032/page/n333/mode/2up ''Grey Wolf: Mustafa Kemal – An intimate study of a dictator'' (fifth cheap edition, July 1935), p. 333]</blockquote>

On a Turkish website – The Turkish War of Independence and the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey:
<blockquote>''The National Assembly which first convened on 23 April 1920 in Ankara was the first clue to the Turkish Republic. The successful management of the War of Independence by this assembly accelerated the founding of the new Turkish State. On 1 November 1922, the offices of the Sultan and caliph were severed from one other and the former was abolished. There was no longer any administrative ties with the Ottoman Empire. On 29 October 1923, Turkish Republic was formally proclaimed and Atatürk was unanimously elected as its first President. On 30 October 1923, the first government of the Republic was formed by İsmet İnönü. Turkish Republic started to grow on the foundations of the twin principles "Sovereignty, unconditionally belongs to the nation" and "peace at home, peace in the world".'' [http://www.ataturk.com/content/view/24/43/ Biography of Atatürk]</blockquote>

== See also ==
*[[Meiji Restoration]]
*[[Enlightened despotism]]
*[[Adolf Hitler]]
*[[Benito Mussolini]]
*[[Gamal Abdel Nasser]]
*[[Pervez Musharraf]]

== Bibliography ==
* Balfour, Patrick. ''Atatürk: The Rebirth of a Nation'' (1964).
* Çandar, Cengiz, and David Pryce-Jones. "Atatürk's Ambiguous Legacy." ''Wilson Quarterly'' 2000 24(4): 88-96. Issn: 0363-3276 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]
* Eissenstat, Howard. "History and Historiography: Politics and Memory in the Turkish Republic." ''Contemporary European History'' 2003 12(1): 93-105. Issn: 0960-7773 Fulltext: in Cambridge journals.
* Karpat, Kemal H. "The Personality of Atatürk," ''The American Historical Review'', Vol. 90, No. 4 (Oct., 1985), pp. 893–899 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-8762(198510)90%3A4%3C893%3ATPOA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Q in JSTOR]
* Kazancıgil, Ali and Özbudun, Ergün, eds. ''Atatürk: Founder of a Modern State.'' Archon, 1982. 243 pp.
* Kedourie, Sylvia, ed. ''Seventy-Five Years of the Turkish Republic.'' (1999). 237 pp.
* Kedourie, Sylvia. ''Turkey Before and After Atatürk: Internal and External Affairs'' (1989) 282pp; [https://books.google.com/books?id=OXRnTgmrmC0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:ataturk&num=30&as_brr=0&sig=dFTndXR43BukG1RtrNY4GvrcTeo excerpts and text search]
* Kinross, Patrick. ''Atatürk: The Rebirth of a Nation'' (1965) 615pp
* Macfie, A.L. ''Atatürk'' (1995) 275pp [https://www.amazon.com/Ataturk-Profiles-Power-L-Macfie/dp/0582078636/ref=cm_lmf_img_3 excerpt and text search]
* Mango, Andrew. ''Atatürk: The Biography of the Founder of Modern Turkey'' (1999) [https://www.amazon.com/Ataturk-Biography-founder-Modern-Turkey/dp/158567334X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196105830&sr=8-1rpt and text search]
* Tachau, Frank. ''Kemal Atatürk'' (1987)
* Trask, Roger R. "The United States and Turkish Nationalism: Investments and Technical Aid during the Atatürk Era," ''Business History Review,'' Vol. 38, No. 1, International Government-Business Issue (Spring, 1964), pp. 58–77 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0007-6805(196421)38%3A1%3C58%3ATUSATN%3E2.0.CO%3B2-D in JSTOR]
* Volkan, Vamık D., and Norman Itzko. ''The Immortal Atatürk – A Psychobiography'' (1984)
* Weiker, Walter F. ''The Modernization of Turkey: From Atatürk to the Present Day'' (1981) [http://www.questia.com/read/43183327 online edition]

==References==
{{reflist|1}}

== External links ==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YVXs1LAenA A biography of Atatürk]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9EkewZea3k Incredible Turk (1958) – The first documentary on Atatürk]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RfCGap0Pic John F. Kennedy – Speech about Atatürk]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeuDssLUOwY Greek Genocide song – Kemal (English subs)]
*[https://www.docdroid.net/xaZwuc0/stefan-ihrig-ataturk-in-the-nazi-imagination-pdf#page=125 Stefan Ihrig – Atatürk in the Nazi Imagination]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atatürk, Mustafa Kemal}}

[[Category:Turkey]]
[[Category:World War I]]
[[Category:Military Commanders]]
[[Category:Heads of Government]]
[[Category:Heads of State]]
[[Category:Nationalists]]
[[Category:Dictators]]
[[Category:Atheists]]

Islam

2021-08-12T16:25:02Z

Andrewlee: /* Converts to Islam */

[[Image:Quran.jpg|thumb|right|Pages from the [[Koran]], the foundational text of the Islamic ideology, dictated by a single 7th-century author who claimed to have been inspired by a supernatural being whom Muslims call 'Allah'. If the Constitution is the highest law of the United States, then the Koran is the highest law of Islam.]]

[[Image:Mohammad.jpg|thumb|right|[[Muhammad]], the creator of Islam. Pictorial representations of Muhammad is considered making a graven image of a false god in Islam.]]
'''Islam''' or '''Mohammedanism''' is a major world [[Political|socio-political]] system<ref>[http://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm/frm/100100/sec_id/100100 Why Islam is Not a Religion], by Rebecca Bynum (Nov. 2011) Speech delivered October 18th to ACT! for America Chapter in Memphis Tennessee</ref> based on the teachings of [[Muhammad]] (sometimes Mohammed), a seventh-century [[Arab]]. Muhammad claimed descent from [[Ishmael]], the son of [[Abraham]]. Muhammad claimed to have received revelations from Allah, the entity which adherents of Islam claim to resemble the [[God]] of [[Judaism]] and [[Christianity]], via the archangel Gabriel, which were written in the [[Koran]] – thus forming the core teachings of Islam.

The Koran's singular authorship offers no corroborating evidence, as the four Gospels do for example, of testimony of independent eyewitness accounts to its claim of divine inspiration as the Mosaic Law requires,<ref>Dueteronomy 19:15 ''By the testimony of two is a matter established''. The testimony of one - Mohammad - is insufficient to convict the human race, or infidels, of sin, ''per the Law of Moses'' or the Koran itself which claims descent.</ref> from which the Koran's author borrowed selectively.

==Overview==
[[File:World Muslim Population Pew Forum.png|thumb|The Muslim population of the world map according to the Pew Forum 2009 report.]]
The word "Islam"<ref>Arabic الإسلام‎‎, specifically referring to submission to Allah</ref> means "submission" or "surrender" in [[Arabic language|Arabic]]. Islam, as originally designed in the Koran, presents itself as an "Abrahamic faith" and has [[Moses]] in it,<ref>Brannon Wheeler. Moses in the Koran and Islamic Exegesis. Routledge, 2002.</ref> as well as [[Jesus]] as a prophet in Islam,<ref>Muhammad Ata ur-Rahim, Ahmad Thomson. ''Jesus: Prophet of Islam''. TTQ, INC., 2003.</ref> and it specifically denies Jesus's divine nature.

<blockquote>
The world’s Islamic population is expected to increase by about 35% in the next 20 years, rising from 1.6 billion in 2010 to 2.2 billion by 2030, according to new population projections by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life. In the United States, for example, the population projections show the number of Muslims more than doubling over the next two decades, rising from 2.6 million in 2010 to 6.2 million in 2030.<ref>[http://www.pewforum.org/2011/01/27/the-future-of-the-global-muslim-population/ The Future of the Global Muslim Population.]</ref>
</blockquote>

Islam has been criticized for some time because of its demanding of strict submissiveness (especially of women), its suppression and violations of human rights (also including those of women), and its predisposition to being violent toward those of true religious faiths and attacking those faiths deemed a threat to Islam. There have been over 23,000 terrorist attacks committed by adherents of Islam since [[September 11, 2001 attacks|the Islamic terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001]].<ref>http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/</ref> A more recent strain of Islam has combined European totalitarianism and a virulent [[anti-Semitism]]. This version is called [[Jihadism#Lesser jihad|lesser jihad]], [[Islamism]], radical Islam, or militant Islam. Without the historic institution of the Caliph, this form degenerates into stateless terrorist activity that strikes at the heart of civilized man. Some who identify as Muslim have denounced the violent jihadism while others remain silent. Some Muslims and non-Muslims theorize that mainstream Islam has become corrupted over the years that there needs to be an [[Islamic Reformation]] similar to that of the [[Protestant Reformation]].<ref>Michaelle Browers, Charles Kurzman. An Islamic Reformation? Lexington Books, 2004.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.danielpipes.org/954/distinguishing-between-islam-and-islamism|title=Distinguishing between Islam and Islamism|author=Daniel Pipes|date=June 30, 1998}}</ref> The Reformation movements were costly and bloody for well over a century.
[[Image:Mecca.jpg|thumb|left|[[Mecca]], one of the holy cities of Islam.]]
There are small groups of largely Westernized Muslims who publicly reject Islamism. Such moderate Muslim conservatives are in the [[Republican Party]], known as the [[Muslim Republicans]].<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> One of America's Founding Fathers, [[Thomas Jefferson]], who was a religious [[libertarian]], declared: "''freedom for the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and the Mohammedan, the Hindu and infidel of every denomination''."<ref>John A. Garraty, Story of America Beginnings to 1877, (1992) Holt, Rinehart and Winston, pg 706.</ref>

Issues with Islam arose in the 2012 U.S. presidential campaign. Republican presidential candidate [[Mitt Romney]] said that "''Radical, violent Islamists pose a threat to Americans and others around the world.''" and that "''they take a very different view of Islam than the Muslims I know.''" Romney said that when he lived in Detroit he knew Muslims, as Detroit has a large Muslim population, and says "''They are peace-loving and America-loving individuals. I believe that very sincerely. I believe people of the Islamic faith do not have to subscribe to the idea of radical, violent jihadism.''<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> Former Republican presidential nominee candidate [[Ron Paul]], a libertarian conservative, says that America should not fear Islam and said that America should just embrace people of all faiths.<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> American conservative author Margaret Hoover believes that the Republican Party needs to recognize Muslim Republicans, noting an example of Muslim Republican youth Suhail Khan who she describes as "''one of thousands of Muslim Americans who work to promote Christian-Muslim understanding''".<ref>Margaret Hoover, ''American Individualism: How a New Generation of Conservatives Can Save the Republican Party'', Random House Digital, Inc., 2011, pg 202.</ref> Candidates for the Republican nomination like [[Newt Gingrich]] and [[Rick Santorum]] strongly criticized Islamic extremism.<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref>

[[Multiculturalism|Multiculturalists]] ignore or minimize violence in the history of Islam and exaggerate Christian atrocities to advance a [[moral equivalence]]. Proponents of this view often cite the [[Crusades|Great Crusades]]--an unsuccessful attempt by Western Christians to retake parts of the [[Byzantine Empire]] that had been conquered by Islamic armies--and various religious wars which were later fought in Europe between branches of Christianity. However, they brand critics of Islam "racists" (even though Islam is not a "race") and "[[Islamophobia|Islamophobes]]" (a smear term invented for the purpose of censoring and silencing legitimate criticism of Islam) for exposing today's threats by [[jihadism|jihadists]].<ref>http://www.bcbsr.com/topics/charity.html</ref>

A follower of Islam is called a "[[Muslim]]" (rarely "Moslem"), a term which means "one who submits (to Allah)." The older terms "Mohammedan" and "Muhammedan" ("follower of Muhammad"), have fallen out of use.<ref>Additional archaic terms for Muslims include "Hagarene", "Musselman", and "Saracen." Saracen as a term for Muslims was limited to the Crusades era, although it makes frequent re-appearances in pre-modern polemics. Hagarene was a more common term in pre-modern works, as it denotes the Biblical connection of Hagar, the mother of Ishmael, who is claimed to be a patriarch of Islam. Additional names for Muslims in pre-modern and Medieval works are generally derived from misspellings.</ref>

Because of its history of terrorism, mass murder and suicide attacks, Islam, and those who adhere to it, are sometimes generally perceived as having no regard toward human life.<ref>[https://www.conservativenewsandviews.com/2017/07/09/human/permanent-rage-islam/ The Permanent Rage of Islam] at Conservative News and Views</ref>

==Theology==
[[File:Kaaba.jpg|thumb|Masjid al-Haram, the holiest site in Islam.]]

There are no clergy, but there are religious teachers, or [[Imam]]s, who have their followings. All Muslims are supposed to follow the teachings of Muhammad, whom they believe to be Allah's<ref>Arabic الله</ref> last and greatest [[prophet]] (although Jesus, in Matthew 7:15-20, warned "Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves. You will recognize them by their fruit. Grapes are not gathered from thorns or figs from thistles, are they? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree is not able to bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree to bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will recognize them by their fruit", which serves to explicitly describe Muhammad and such like him). The teachings of Muhammad are transmitted through the [[Koran]], the Hadith, and the Sunnah. The Sunnah is a general term for "the life and doings of the Prophet", which all Muslims are called on to replicate. Islam claims that the Archangel [[Gabriel]] appeared to Muhammad in a cave reciting verbatim a revelation from Allah. The first word that Gabriel says to Muhammad is "Iqra" or "Recite/Proclaim", which is found in the 96th Sura of the Koran.

Muslims believe that Allah revealed the Koran to Muhammad. The key miracle of Islam comes from the historical condition of the illiterate and uneducated Muhammad, as the Koran is composed in an erudite and complex form of Arabic prose and poetry.<ref>Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created- Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,- He Who taught (the use of) the pen,- Taught man that which he knew not.(Surah 96:1-5)</ref> The Koran was not written down in a systematic fashion until a decade after Muhammad died, preferable transmission being through oral recitation. The Koran is claimed by Muslims to be the pure and holy word of Allah, uncreated and eternal. In Islamic belief, the term uncreated is very important, as it implies that there is no author for the Koran, only the delivering of the word to Muhammad who delivered it to the Sahab and the Salaf (The Companions and the Pure), who delivered it to the scribe delegated to record it in the reign of the Caliph Uthman bin Affan.

Islam teaches fundamental contradictions about the nature of Allah. Allah is said to be all-powerful, yet impotent to have a son (Surah 6:100-101). The idea of Allah having offspring is mocked,<ref>"Limitless is He is His glory, and sublimely exalted above anything that men may devise by way of definition: the Originator of the heavens and the earth! How could it be that He should have a child without there ever having been a mate for Him - since it is He who has created everything, and He alone knows everything?" - Surah 6:100-101.</ref> and this limitation of his power differentiates Allah from the Christian God. Allah is a very angry god who loves only those who swear allegiance to him, and hates non-believers. To serve Allah is to hate Allah's enemies with the same divine hatred that Allah hates non-believers (Surah 5:54). This stands in direct contrast to John 3:16.

In Islamic theology, Allah, the alleged maker of heaven and earth (Surah 6:100), is impotent to have a son (Surah 6:101). Human beings, with the ability to reproduce themselves, possess powers Allah is incapable of.

===Divisions within Islam===
Uthman was assassinated in 656 A.D. by soldiers who then installed Ali ibn Abu Talib, Muhammad's son-in-law, as [[Caliph]]. Ali's followers believed Muhammad had chosen Ali to be Muhammad's heir, and had disagreed with the selections of Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman as Caliphs. Ali's claim to the position was challenged by Muawiyah, a kinsman of the murdered Uthman. Five years later, Ali was assassinated by Kharjites, dissidents who broke away from the main body of Islam because they rejected Ali's accepting arbitration to resolve his leadership dispute with Muawiyah. Ali's supporters, or the Shiah al-Ali (or Shiat Ali, partisans of Ali) believed that Ali was the true Caliph and was, in part, divinely inspired. Ali's sons, Hassan and Husayn followed as [[Shia]] Caliphs, Hassan dying in 669 or 670 A.D., possibly by poisoning, and Husayn slain by soldiers of his rival, the [[Sunni]] Caliph Yazid, in 680 A.D.

The Shia Islamic community has divided further as followers coalesced around several of Ali's descendants or successors, called [[Imam]]s. The "twelvers," predominant in Iran, believe the twelfth Imam is in hiding and will reveal himself just before judgment day. Ismailis rejected the seventh Imam and practice a spirituality that seeks hidden meaning in scripture. Ismailis ruled much of [[North Africa]] as the [[Fatimid Dynasty]] of [[Egypt]] in the tenth through the twelfth centuries, and today are found primarily in [[Pakistan]], [[Afghanistan]], and [[India]]. The Sunni majority reject the premise that men can be divine, including Muhammad, Ali, or Jesus, and did not accept any of the Imams who followed Ali. Sunnis remain more committed to traditions and less inclined to accept Shia mysticism. Today, about 15% of the world's Muslims are Shia and 85% are orthodox Sunni.

There are other factions within Islam. Sufis, a name possibly derived from the wool garments they wear, developed around mystical practices and trance-induced revelations. Sufis are found today in [[Turkey]], [[Syria]], and parts of [[Africa]]. One of the most famous modern followers of Sufism was American professional boxer [[Muhammad Ali]] in his later years. Other movements have taken reform tracks, such as the Unitarians of [[Saudi Arabia]], also called [[Wahhabi]]s after their 18th-century reformist founder Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. The conservative Wahhabis are found today in Saudi Arabia and [[Qatar]]. Today the Wahhabi line has a tendency to produce extremists, such as [[Osama Bin Laden]]. Some critics would argue that the [[Taliban]] of Afghanistan took conservative reform to an extreme. Other sects or break-away groups include, among others, the Alawis found in Syria and Turkey, the [[Druze]] in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Israel, the Ibadhis (Kharjites) in Oman and Africa, the Ahmadiya of Pakistan, and the Zaydis of Yemen.

==Origins==
Like Christianity and Judaism, Islam originated in the Middle East. Islam claims to trace its roots back to Abraham through his son Ishmael. Muslims do not believe that Muhammad was the founder of Islam, rather they claim that he restored the original faith of Abraham and the prophets that followed as recorded in the lost books of the Tawrat and Injil.

Based upon this belief, the [[Bible]], both the [[Old Testament|Old]] and [[New Testament]]s, is claimed by adherents of Islam to have become corrupted through the [[Bible translations|translations and misinterpretations]] accumulated over several millennia. The criticism of the [[Torah]] centers around the reconstruction of the existing Biblical text required after the "[[Babylon]]ian captivity". The criticism of the New Testament centers in the many disputed gnostic texts which contradict the orthodox biblical canon. Interestingly, Islamic jurisprudence accepts that the Injil was complete and whole up until the revelation of Muhammad. Therefore, there is some inconsistency in the claims made against the New Testament. For more information, see [[The Bible versus the Qur'an|The Bible versus the Koran]].

Muhammad spent many years attempting to unite disparate polytheistic Arab tribes in the power vacuum created by the fall of the [[Roman Empire]] through recitations of his epic poem, which borrowed heavily from Hebrew scriptures and dietary laws, meeting with only limited success. He was eventually driven out of Mecca by the powers that be for challenging state authority, an event known as the ''Hijra'' or "Flight from Mecca" which marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar.

Eventually Muhammad was summoned back to Mecca by a faction of sympathizers, mainly tribal family members, as political chaos engulfed the city. Muhammad conquered the city after a prolonged siege with attacks on the civilian population and hundreds of beheadings to any who refused to accept his claims to a divine mission of carrying out the will of Allah. The doctrine of abrogation (''nashk'') in Islamic scholarship teaches that the later instructions of Mohammad supersede any earlier contradictory verses in the Koran.<ref>http://www.quranicstudies.com/books/abrogation-in-the-quran-and-islamic-law/</ref> Hence was born political Islam,<ref>https://www.politicalislam.com/abrogation-and-the-koran/</ref> a doctrine of war, conquest, and vengeance, over any earlier utterances which teach Islam a religion of peace. Peace only exists in Islam insofar as all Islam's enemies are subjugated.

==Terminology==
Additional archaic terms for Muslims include, but are not limited to, "Hagarene" and "Saracen." The term Hagarene was more common in post-crusade Europe as it made specific reference to the Biblical mother of Ishmael. In Islam, Ishmael plays an analogous theological role to Isaac. Muslims do not use it today to avoid confusing worship of [[Muhammad]] with worship of [[Allah]].<ref>Schimmel, (1992)</ref>

==Islamic guidance==
During his lifetime, Muhammad's companions learned and later transcribed the verses (surrahs) of the Koran as Muhammad spoke them. In Islam, the teachings of Mohammed were believed to be direct divine revelation from Allah.

The third Caliph, Uthman, collected and codified the various versions of the surrahs into one written Koran that became the standard Arabic text used by the world's Muslims today. The Koran is longer than the Bible and written in general order of longest chapters to shortest rather than in any order of when they were spoken, sometimes making the work appear to be confusing. In all there are 114 chapters. Most of the later recorded sayings of Mohammed, which were also more warlike, actually appear earlier in the text. Present-day Muslims look first to the Koran as a guide to life, then to the [[Sunnah]], or the way of the Prophet (his life as an example for others) as recorded by his early companions, and then to the [[Hadith]], a collection of the Prophet's sayings, comments, advice, and descriptions.

Frequently, Muslims disagreed over how to interpret certain passages in the Qur'an, the Sunnah, or the Hadith in their search for the ideal life and perfect path to heaven. From these interpretations Sunni Muslims developed four schools of law, or interpretations of law, named after their founders or early leaders: the Hanbali, considered the most strict school and predominant today in Saudi Arabia; Shafi, the school of widest acceptance, found in Egypt, parts of Palestine-Syria, south Arabia, and the Far East; Maliki, prevalent in North Africa, Sudan, and Nigeria; and Hanafi, considered the most moderate school, predominant in Ottoman Turkey and today found primarily on the Levant and Indian subcontinent. Frequently, Islamic countries have two separate legal systems, one for civil, criminal, or commercial law, and a second, and separate, system for religious law. Religious courts and their judges (qadis) might handle issues dealing with marriage, divorce, child custody, inheritance, religious education, charitable or religious property (Waqf), or family matters. Among Middle Eastern countries, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen have Shariah courts serving alongside their secular courts or have adopted [[Sharia]]h (Islamic law) as the basis of their legal systems.

===Five pillars of Islam===
*'''[[Shahadah]] (Profession of Faith)''' -The Shahadah is the Muslim profession of faith. 'ašhadu 'al-lā ilāha illā-llāhu wa 'ašhadu 'anna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh, a loose English translation reads "''There is none worthy of worship except Allah, and [[Muhammad]] is the messenger of Allah''" This testament can be seen as the foundation of all of the other tenets of Islam and swears off the divinity of Christ. For the Christian believer, the Shahada is essentially an [[oath]] renouncing the divinity of [[Christ]], "But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father who is in heaven." (Matt 10:33).

*'''[[Salat]] (Ritual Prayer)''' -All Muslims are required to pray to Allah five times each day while facing [[Mecca]]. Praying six times a day is considered willful disobedience to Allah, ''per shariah law'', an act punishable by death.<ref>The example is used by Prof. Quinten Wiktorowitz of an extremist considered by Muslim "moderates" as one who loves Allah so much he defies Allah's instructions. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10576100500497004</ref><ref>[https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://archives.cerium.ca/IMG/pdf/WIKTOROWICZ_2006_Anatomy_of_the_Salafi_Movement.pdf&ved=0ahUKEwiXlY7EttfTAhVF02MKHRExBFwQFggcMAA&usg=AFQjCNH4tKyamYaRwVVY8j23A0VjTOOWJg&sig2=zIzwl9aecd3zpGkLsveV0g "Despite the success of the Prophet’s mission and the growth of Islam, Salafis believe human desires continue to grip Muslims and challenge the purity of the message. In this view, there is an eternal temptation to manipulate and distort the religion through innovation. Although nefarious interests often drive deviancy, it can also result from good intentions. Muslims who pray more than the explicitly proscribed five times a day, for example, are likely motivated by love for God. They are, however, still engaged in innovation because they are inventing new practices to fulfill a human desire." p.4 pdf]</ref>

*'''Zakat (Charity)''' Zakat is often described as charitable giving. Able Muslims must donate to the poor based on the wealth one has accumulated. In current usage it is interpreted as 2.5% of [[net worth]] held for a full lunar year. However, funding violent jihad by wealthy Muslims has been ruled a form of ''zakat'' by Islamic scholars, a requirement to fulfill their Islamic duty under the five pillars. There exists the poor, unemployed, and unemployable jihadis, and the ignorant (''jahiliyya'') infidel masses in need if Islamic enlightening, hence funding terrorism is considered charitable work.

*'''Sawm (Fasting)''' All able-bodied Muslims (children, pregnant women, the elderly, and the ill are exempt) must not eat during the daylight hours of the entire month of [[Ramadan]]. According to Muslims, this purifies the body and soul. Although Muslims and their mainstream media surrogates refer to it as a "fast," this in no way aligns with traditional Christian and Judaic concepts of fasting, and indeed violates the basic concept. Torturing oneself in an outward display of [[piety]] is deemed hypocritcal by the [[monotheist]]ic traditions of Christianity and Judaism. Some Islamic sects allow military, police and emergency services personnel to receive an exemption from fasting from an imam, on the grounds that their work supports the community or national good.

*'''Hajj (Pilgrimage)''' All able-bodied Muslims must make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lives. Many without funds for a round trip never made it back, having been sold off in the slave auction market place at [[Taif]].<ref>https://youtu.be/emRVkisdbhc</ref>

===Sharia===
[[Image:StarCresent.png|thumb|right|220px|The Star and Crescent is a symbol of Islam. It is featured in the national flag of [[Algeria]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Malaysia]], [[Tunisia]], [[Uzbekistan]], [[Mauritania]], [[Pakistan]], and [[Turkey]], amongst others]]
[[Sharia]] is the body of Islamic law. The term means "way" or "path"; it is the legal framework within which public and some private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Islamic principles of jurisprudence. It is not actually part of the canonical Koran; that is to say, it is not believed to be the direct word of Allah by Muslims, but rather the interpretation of it.

Sharia deals with many aspects of day-to-day life, including politics, economics, banking, business law, contract law, sexuality, marriage, divorce, and social issues. Most Islamic scholars regard Sharia as the body of precedent and legal theory established during the early stages of the Islamic Empire, though a few scholars also believe contemporary legal cases can and should shape the law, though such thinkers may be subject to ridicule and even threats from Islamists and their liberal allies.

Sharia law proscribes often brutal punishments for acts, that, in the western world, are relatively minor. For example, under sharia law, turning away from Islam is punishable by death,<ref>[http://www.ntpi.org/html/whyoppose.html]</ref> while women found guilty of adultery is punishable by stoning to death, which often includes many rape victims, as Sharia courts often regard a rape victim as guilty of adultery unless she can provide four witnesses to the act of rape.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6148590.stm</ref> In cases involving the death penalty of corporal punishment, methods of carrying out the punishment are often barbaric, and include public beheading, chopping off of the hand, and flogging.<ref>http://saudiwoman.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/punishment-in-saudi-arabia/</ref> Many Islamic groups have been attempting to have Shariah courts set up in European countries, initially to rule over civil cases between Muslims in Europe.<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,422661,00.html</ref>

The need by Islam's adherents to add to and retain followers in its ideology through Sharia, deceit, force and intimidation, particularly through threats of death against those who leave Islam or who levy legitimate criticism against it for its barbaric ways and history, would indicate that overall, Islam is a weak ideology that would not withstand criticism or exposure of the truth of its ways and history. To facilitate retaining its membership and to keep the truth about Islam under wraps, its adherents have formed convenient alliances with sympathetic liberals in politics, academia, the courts, the mainstream media and Hollywood to deceive the public about Islam and what it really is, as well as to censor and silence critics of Islam through ridicule, false accusations of "racism", "hate speech" and "Islamophobia" and the illegal use of the legal system to punish critics.<ref>[http://nationalpost.com/news/weaponization-of-free-speech-prompts-talk-of-a-new-hate-law?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NP_Top_Stories+%28National+Post+-+Top+Stories%29 "Weaponization" of free speech prompts talk of a new hate law] at the ''National Post''</ref>

===Ulemah ===
Sunni Islam does not have a priesthood or clerical hierarchy to conduct religious services or interpret scripture, but it does have prayer leaders, called Imams, and religious scholars, called Ulemah,<ref>"Umma and ulemah" would be roughly equivalent to "laity and clergy".</ref> who often are educated men familiar with the Koran and able to offer commentaries on Koranic verses. Sunni Muslims also respect the teachings and interpretations of scholars, judges, and academics who may interpret laws, write treatises on Sharia (religious law) or Hadith, and issue Fatwas, religious rulings or declarations intended to enlighten or guide Muslims. These religious scholars issue legal rulings on various questions in contemporary life, such as the use of toilet paper which Islamic law previously forbade,<ref>https://nypost.com/2015/04/08/muslims-can-now-use-toilet-paper-turkeys-top-religious-authority/</ref> transgenderism,<ref>https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-transgender/pakistani-clerics-declare-transgender-marriages-legal-under-islamic-law-idUSKCN0ZD1IZ</ref> conjugal relations in marriage during the menstrual cycle<ref>http://aliftaa.jo/QuestionEn.aspx?QuestionId=2667#.YGOXVtKSncs</ref> or use of bug zappers.<ref>https://www.islamweb.net/en/fatwa/198619/killing-insects-with-electric-insect-killer</ref>

Shia Islam has a hierarchy that resembles a priesthood. Mullahs are prayer leaders, but usually do not interpret religious law. Mujtahids are religious scholars who may interpret law or passages from the Koran or Hadith. The lower order of Mujtahids are called Hojjatolislam. Ayat Allah (literally sign of Allah, also Ayatollah) is a higher order of Mujtahid who may issue Fatwas, or religious edicts, in addition to leading Islamic schools, interpreting religious law and the Koran, and offering sermons or discourses on proper Islamic behavior.

== Converts to Islam ==
People who convert to Islam from legitimate religions or from nontheism commit ideologically motivated crimes such as [[jihadism|jihadist]] [[terrorism]], [[hate speech]], [[discrimination]], and [[fraud]]: [http://web.archive.org/web/20190327113206/https://wikiislam.net/wiki/Converts_to_Islam A list of converts to Islam]. As has been witnessed many times, people who convert to Islam become radicalized and divide the world into two groups: Muslims ("people who surrender to Allah") and non-Muslims (''kafir''s, i.e. people who think differently).

==Today==
[[File:2012 Sydney protest.jpg|thumb|Some non-Muslims feel threatened by the unforgiving nature of the ideology of Islam.]]
Islam is the world's largest socio-political ideology, with over 1.6 billion followers, and is claimed to be the fastest-growing ideology in America.<ref>[http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/the-fastest-growing-religion-in-america-is-islam]</ref> This rapid growth is mainly due to conversions, high birth rates, and convenient redefinitions of the term "Muslim". Conversions to Christianity (from ''any'' faith or lack thereof) outnumber those to Islam, but are keeping up with the birthrate discrepancy.<ref>[http://www.bible.ca/global-religion-statistics-world-christian-encyclopedia.htm World Christian Encyclopedia]</ref><ref>[http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles6/AlJazeerahAfrica.php Translation of AL-Jazeerah interview between Maher Abdallah and Shiekh Ahmed Katani]</ref>

Islamic doctrine, including what is taught in [[North America]], teaches that 1 John 4:9, "God is love", is a false doctrine.<ref>http://www.arabicbible.com/for-christians/1313-christians-common-questions-about-islam.html?start=2</ref> The doctrine of ''Al-Wala wal-Bara'' teaches true faith is measured in sharing Allah's hatred of the ''kufr'', non-believers, or infidels.<ref>http://www.meforum.org/3545/islam-hatred-non-muslim</ref> In other words, Islamic doctrine teaches that Allah hates his own creation, sinful man, which John 3:16 teaches, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son." ''Al-Wala wal-Bara'', or divine hatred, is used to justify terrorist attacks. The believing Muslim feels he is carrying out Allah's will in killing Allah's enemies. Rather than the [[atonement|atoning]] blood of Jesus for sinful man, the murder of infidels and attacks on their societal institutions and national governments is aimed at blotting out evil in the world.

Even Orthodox Judaism teaches that Jehovah loves sinners. Psalm 138:8, for example, says, "The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands."

[[Indonesia]] has the largest Islamic population in the world.

=== Future of Islam in Europe and the desecularization of Europe ===
''See also: [[Atheism vs. Islam]] and [[Secular Europe]]''
[[File:Europe pol 2004.jpg|thumbnail|right|325px|In 2014, the Pew Research Forum indicated that [[Europe]] will go from 11% of the world's population to 7% of the world's population by 2050.<ref>[https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/02/03/10-projections-for-the-global-population-in-2050/ 10 projections for the global population in 2050] By Rakesh Kochhar, Pew Research Forum, February 3, 2014</ref>]]

In April 2010, Eric Kaufmann indicated concerning the future of Islam in Europe:
{{cquote|I address this in some detail in the book, as well is in a [http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/features/europes-muslim-future recent article in the April issue of Prospect magazine] here in Britain. The short answer is that I don’t foresee a Muslim-majority Europe in this century or in the next. Why? Mainly because Muslim birthrates are plunging both in Europe and the Muslim world. Already, Iran, Tunisia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and several other Muslim countries have replacement-level fertility or below. In the UK, Bangladeshi and Pakistani fertility has halved in a generation and is now under 3 children per woman. This means their long-term growth will begin to tail off. The other part of the equation is the rise of non-Muslim immigrant groups (African and West Indian Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and other Eastern faiths) who are also increasing and therefore making Europe more plural and, in the process, rendering it harder for Muslims to increase their share of the population.

That said, Muslim membership retention and in-group marriage is exceptionally high (over 90 per cent) and they are a much younger population than the host society. So they are on course for steady growth. My colleagues and I expect their fertility to fall to host levels by 2030, but they will still make up 5-15 per cent of most West European countries by 2050 and 10-25 per cent by 2100. This is a major change from the 2-6 per cent levels of today<ref>[http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/shall_the_religious_inherit_the_earth/#sthash.nE0JGi2Y.dpuf ''Shall the religious inherit the earth?''], 2010 Interview with [[Eric Kaufmann]] by MercatorNet</ref>}}

Due to the growing number of Muslims moving into secular Europe/[[Western World]] and the ideological differences between the [[atheist worldview]] and Islam, there has been growing tension between [[atheism|atheists]]/secularists and Muslims - particularly between [[Militant atheism|militant atheists]] and militant Islam.

The [[New Atheism|New Atheists]] [[Richard Dawkins]], [[Sam Harris]] and the late [[Christopher Hitchens]] have received multiple accusations of engaging in "[[Islamophobia|Islamophobic]]" behavior.<ref>
*[https://www.salon.com/2013/03/30/dawkins_harris_hitchens_new_atheists_flirt_with_islamophobia/ Dawkins, Harris, Hitchens: New Atheists flirt with Islamophobia] by Nathan Lean, ''Salon'', March 30, 2013
*[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/apr/03/sam-harris-muslim-animus Sam Harris, the New Atheists, and anti-Muslim animus] by [[Glenn Greenwald]], ''The Guardian'', April 3, 2013</ref> On the other hand, defenders of atheist criticisms of Islam/Muslims indicated that New Atheists should be able to criticize Islam without being accused of "Islamophobia".<ref>[http://www.newstatesman.com/religion/2013/04/new-atheism-should-be-able-criticise-islam-without-being-accused-islamophobia New Atheism should be able to criticise Islam without being accused of Islamophobia] by Andrew Zak Williams, ''New Statesman'', Published 19 April 2013</ref>

For more information, please see:

*[[Atheism vs. Islam]]
*[[Atheism vs. Christianity]]

==Other aspects of Islam==
===Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem===
Muhammad's home city of Mecca was the site of his earliest preaching and conversions, and is the location of the Kaaba, traditionally held to be the foundation stone of the first mosque built by Adam and later restored by Abraham, and now the focus of the annual pilgrimage (hajj). Some historians suggest that the Kaaba, a black stone probably meteoric in origin, was venerated by pre-Islamic polytheistic religions.

At first, Jerusalem was claimed by Islam to be its holy city and the focus of prayers, but Mecca became the center of Islam after Muhammad's return in 630. Medina, because of its early association with Muhammad and as the site of Muhammad's tomb, is second in importance to Mecca. Jerusalem is revered by Muslims as the site of Solomon's temple, Abraham's near-sacrifice of his son Ishmael, and the scene of Muhammad's miraculous midnight journey, the latter two now enshrined in the [[Dome of the Rock]] mosque. According to the Koran (Surrah 17:1, Isra) and Hadith, Muhammad and Gabriel were taken on winged mules from Mecca to Jerusalem, where they ascended through the seven heavens to the presence of Allah. During the visit, Muhammad learned, among other points, that Muslims were to pray five times each day and to honor Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and the other prophets.

===People of the Book===
Christians and Jews are called "people of the Book" in the Koran and are considered earlier forerunners to Islam and viewed as brothers as long as they pay an extra tax when under Islamic rule. Islam, which claims roots tracing back to Abraham through his son Ishmael instead of Isaac as the Jews did, believes that they are the descendants of Allah's promise. Islam claims that both the Old and New Testament were corrupted and corrected by the Koran (though in truth, it is the Koran itself which plagiarized from and corrupted Biblical scripture), but there is still an earlier link claimed between the two religions and Islam. The view of Jews and Christians varied within different parts of the Koran and Islamic history. Much of current Islamic culture, even in places that were once very tolerant such as Egypt, has seen an upsurge in persecution and violence against Christians and Jews.

===Jihad===
Jihad is the "struggle" each Muslim is called to against unbelievers (infidels). Participation in jihad in Allah's cause was the third most important good deed listed in the Hadith, after prayer and honoring one's parents. Jihad was a rallying cry for the military spread of Islam in the seventh through tenth centuries against non-Muslims, and is the same reason for Islamic terrorism and war today. 
Some Muslim apologists in the western world say that jihad refers to the difficulties a Muslim faces in the everyday trials of life, such as the effort to get better grades in school, or the striving to achieve better results from a job, or the struggle to avoid sinful temptations. It is, they say, the internal struggle of good and evil, or the pure and the impure. However, this is simply a fabrication, which has been publicly labeled as such by Muslim scholars in the middle east. Nonetheless, even some mosques not teach this, fostering a more peaceful version of Islam. Unfortunately, it is not based on the Koran and the Hadith, but rather modern revisions. Any Muslim believing this peaceful version can be corrected based on these sacred books, and thus become "radicalized."

====Violent passages of the Koran championed by Islam====
In its passages, the Koran has advocated adherents of Islam to commit acts of violence, hatred and insurrection against those who do not follow that ideology (in particular, Jews and Christians) or are critical of it, to subjugate Judaism, Christianity and other religions to Islam and to force the followers of legitimate religions to submit and adhere to Islam.<ref>[https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/quran/violence.aspx What Does Islam Teach About Violence]</ref><ref>[https://thereligionofpeace.com/pages/quran/hell-and-hate.aspx What Does Islam Teach About Hell and Hate]</ref> Not surprisingly, attempts at pointing out the violence advocated by the Koran have been met with denials and excuses by Islamic apologists, who engage in [[taqiyya]] by claiming that the critics of the violent passages took those passages "out of context" and that "critics only quote the part which (suits) them" while the apologists do exactly what they accuse the critics of doing.<ref>[https://discover-the-truth.com/2014/08/12/quran-2191-and-kill-them-wherever-you-find-them-explained/ Quran 2:191- ‘And kill them wherever you find them…’ Explained] - an attempt by Islamic apologists to excuse violent passages of the Koran by offering deceitful explanations of what they claim those passages "really mean"</ref><ref>[http://islam101.com/terror/verse8_12.htm The Holy Quran, verse 8:12], from another Islamic apologist site which excuses the violent passages of the Koran and attacks its critics by claiming "Some non-Muslims either through ignorance or Islam-bashing continue taking the verses of the Holy Quran out of context and its history to justify their false propaganda"</ref><ref>[https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/games/discover-truth/verses/47-4.aspx "Discover the Truth's" Game] - a refutation of the claims and excuses made by the Islamic apologist site Discover the Truth regarding Koran 47:4</ref><ref>[https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2005/01/jihad_quran_9123_v_matthew_103.html Jihad: Quran 9:123 v. Matthew 10:34] at American Thinker</ref><ref>[https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/06/obama_quotes_verse_532_omits_5.html Obama quotes (Koran) verse 5:32, omits 5:33] at American Thinker</ref> Among the more violent and hateful passages of the Koran are these:

*Koran 2:191 - “Slay the unbelievers wherever you find them.”
*Koran 9:123 - “Make war on the infidels living in your neighborhood.”
*Koran 9:5 - “When opportunity arises kill the infidels wherever you catch them.”
*Koran 3:85 - “Any religion other than Islam is not acceptable.”
*Koran 9:30 - “The Jews and the Christians are perverts; fight them.”
*Koran 5:33 - “Maim and crucify the infidels if they criticize Islam”
*Koran 9:28 - “The infidels are unclean; do not let them into a mosque.”
*Koran 22:19 - “Punish the unbelievers with garments of fire, hooked iron rods, boiling water; melt their skin and bellies.”
*Koran 47:4 - “Do not hanker for peace with the infidels; behead them when you catch them.”
*Koran 8:65 - “The unbelievers are stupid; urge the Muslims to fight them.”
*Koran 3:28 - “Muslims must not take the infidels as friends.”
*Koran 8:12 - “Terrorize and behead those who disbelieve (in Allah).”
*Koran 8:60 - “Muslims must muster all weapons to terrorize the infidels.”

====Osama bin Laden and fundamentalists====
[[Osama bin Laden]], a follower of [[Wahhabism]], stated that Islam is at war with the United States and its allies. Some observers claim that the number of Islamic fundamentalists is growing and poses a threat to the West.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.danielpipes.org/255/islamic-fundamentalists-are-the-new-big-threat-to-the-west|title=Islamic Fundamentalists are the New Big Threat to the West|author=Daniel Pipes|newspaper=Philadelphia Inquirer|date=Sept 16, 1994}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.city-journal.org/html/rev2006-06-04td.html|title=All or Nothing: The quest for a moderate Islam may be futile.|date=June 4, 2006|author=Theodore Dalrymple|newspaper=Cite Journal}}</ref> But other observers differentiate between conservative "fundamentalists" and the "extremists" who follow murderers such as bin Laden or other terrorists.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://townhall.com/columnists/dineshdsouza/2008/09/15/who_speaks_for_islam/page/full/|title=Who Speaks For Islam|author=Dinesh D'Souza|newspaper=Townhall|date=Sept 15, 2009}}</ref> In several major Islamic nations, bin Laden had the support of the majority of people in the early years after the 9/11 attacks. As he lost battles with the West and started to target fellow Muslims his popularity waned.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewglobal.org/2012/04/30/on-anniversary-of-bin-ladens-death-little-backing-of-al-qaeda/|title=On Anniversary of bin Laden’s Death, Little Backing of al Qaeda|date=April 30, 2012|publisher=Pew Research Center}}</ref>

===Islam and forced conversion===
The Quran and the various Hadiths teach Muslims to fight Non-Muslims until they are killed, converted, or in a permanent state of subjugation.
*Quran (8:38-39) - “Say to those who have disbelieved, if they cease (from disbelief) their past will be forgiven... And fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief and polytheism: i.e. worshipping others besides Allah) and the religion (worship) will all be for Allah Alone [in the whole of the world ]. But if they cease (worshipping others besides Allah), then certainly, Allah is All-Seer of what they do.”

*Quran (9:29) - "Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued."

*Quran (9:5) "But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war); but if they repent, and establish regular prayers and practice regular charity, then open the way for them..."

*Quran (9:11) - (Continued from verse 9:5) "But if they repent and establish worship and pay the poor-due, then are they your brethren in religion"

*Quran (9:56-57) - "And they swear by Allah that they are most surely of you, and they are not of you, but they are a people who are afraid (of you). If they could find a refuge or cave or a place to enter into, they would certainly have turned thereto, running away in all haste."

*Quran (2:193) - "And fight them until fitna is no more, and religion be only for Allah. But if they desist, then let there be no hostility except against wrong-doers."

*Qur'an (3:83) - "Are they seeking a religion other than Allah's, when every soul in the heavens and the earth has submitted to Him, willingly or by compulsion?"

*Sahih Muslim (1:33) The Messenger of Allah said: "I have been commanded to fight against people till they testify that there is no god but Allah, that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, and they establish prayer and pay zakat."

*Sahih Muslim (19:4294) - "When you meet your enemies who are polytheists (which includes Christians), invite them to three courses of action. If they respond to any one of these, you also accept it and withhold yourself from doing them any harm. Invite them to (accept) Islam; if they respond to you, accept it from them and desist from fighting against them ... If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the Jizya. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah's help and fight them"

*Sahih Bukhari (84:59) - "Allah's Apostle said, 'I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.' And if they say so, pray like our prayers, face our Qibla and slaughter as we slaughter, then their blood and property will be sacred to us and we will not interfere with them except legally and their reckoning will be with Allah.'"

*Sahih Bukhari (53:392) - "While we were in the Mosque, the Prophet came out and said, "Let us go to the Jews" We went out till we reached Bait-ul-Midras. He said to them, "If you embrace Islam, you will be safe. You should know that the earth belongs to Allah and His Apostle, and I want to expel you from this land. So, if anyone amongst you owns some property, he is permitted to sell it, otherwise you should know that the Earth belongs to Allah and His Apostle."

*Sahih Bukhari (2:24) - "Allah's Apostle said: "I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight against the people until they testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah's Apostle, and offer the prayers perfectly and give the obligatory charity, so if they perform a that, then they save their lives and property from me except for Islamic laws and then their reckoning (accounts) will be done by Allah."

*Sahih Bukhari (60:80) - "The Verse:--'You (true Muslims) are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind.' means, the best of peoples for the people, as you bring them with chains on their necks till they embrace Islam."

*Sahih Bukhari (60:40) - "...:And fight them till there is no more affliction (i.e. no more worshiping of others along with Allah)."

*Sahih Bukhari (59:643) - "Testify that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah, or else I will chop off your neck!"

*Ibn Kathir v.4 p.133, Ibn Ishaq/Hisham 959 - "Then the apostle sent Khalid bin Walid… to the Banu al-Harith and ordered him to invite them to Islam three days before he attacked them. If they accepted then he was to accept it from them, and if they declined he was to fight them. So Khalid set out and came to them, and sent out riders in all directions inviting the people to Islam, saying, 'If you accept Islam you will be safe.' So the men accepted Islam as they were invited."

*Ibn Kathir (Commenting on Quran 2:256 in the unabridged version of his tafsir) - "Therefore all people of the world should be called to Islam. If anyone of them refuses to do so, or refuses to pay the jizya, they should be fought till they are killed."

===Islam and slavery===
*Quran (33:50) - ''"O Prophet! We have made lawful to thee thy wives to whom thou hast paid their dowers; and those (slaves) whom thy right hand possesses out of the prisoners of war whom Allah has assigned to thee"
''
*Quran (23:5-6) - ''"..who abstain from sex, except with those joined to them in the marriage bond, or (the captives) whom their right hands possess..."
''
*Quran (4:24) - ''"And all married women (are forbidden unto you) save those (captives) whom your right hands possess."
''
*Quran (8:69) - ''"But (now) enjoy what ye took in war, lawful and good"''

*Quran (24:32) - ''"And marry those among you who are single and those who are fit among your male slaves and your female slaves..."''

*Quran (2:178) - ''"O ye who believe! Retaliation is prescribed for you in the matter of the murdered; the freeman for the freeman, and the slave for the slave, and the female for the female."
''
*Quran (16:75) - ''"Allah sets forth the Parable (of two men: one) a slave under the dominion of another; He has no power of any sort; and (the other) a man on whom We have bestowed goodly favours from Ourselves, and he spends thereof (freely), privately and publicly: are the two equal? (By no means;) praise be to Allah."
''
*Sahih Bukhari (41.598) - Muhammad establishes that slaves are property. They cannot be freed if an owner has outstanding debt, but they can be used to pay off the debt<ref>https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/quran/slavery.aspx</ref>

*Sahih Bukhari (62:137) - Gives an account of women taken as slaves in battle by Mohammed's men after their husbands and fathers were killed. The women were raped with Mohammed's approval.

*Sahih Bukhari (34:432) - Another account of women taken captive and raped with Mohammed's approval. In this case it is evident that the Muslims intend on selling the women after raping them because they are concerned about devaluing their price by impregnating them. Muhammad is asked about coitus interruptus.

*Sahih Bukhari (47:765) - A woman is rebuked by Mohammed for freeing a slave girl. The prophet tells her that she would have gotten a greater heavenly reward by giving her to a relative (as a slave).

*Sahih Bukhari (2:15:103) - ''"I was watching the display of black slaves in the mosque..."''

*Sahih Bukhari (59:637) - ''"The Prophet sent Ali to Khalid to bring the Khumus (of the booty) and I hated Ali, and Ali had taken a bath (after a sexual act with a slave-girl from the Khumus). I said to Khalid, 'Don't you see this (i.e. Ali)?' When we reached the Prophet I mentioned that to him. He said, 'O Buraida! Do you hate Ali?' I said, 'Yes.' He said, 'Do you hate him, for he deserves more than that from the Khumlus.'"''

*Abu Dawud (2150) - ''"The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) sent a military expedition to Awtas on the occasion of the battle of Hunain. They met their enemy and fought with them. They defeated them and took them captives. Some of the Companions of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) were reluctant to have intercourse with the female captives in the presence of their husbands who were unbelievers. So Allah, the Exalted, sent down the Qur’anic verse: (Quran 4:24) 'And all married women (are forbidden) unto you save those (captives) whom your right hands possess.'"
''
*Abu Dawud (1814) - ''"...[Abu Bakr] He then began to beat [his slave] him while the Apostle of Allah (pbuh) was smiling and saying: Look at this man who is in the sacred state (putting on ihram), what is he doing?"
''
*Abu Dawud (38:4458) - ''Narrated Ali ibn AbuTalib: “A slave-girl belonging to the house of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) committed fornication. He (the Prophet) said: Rush up, Ali, and inflict the prescribed punishment on her. I then hurried up, and saw that blood was flowing from her, and did not stop. So I came to him and he said: Have you finished inflicting (punishment on her)? I said: I went to her while her blood was flowing. He said: Leave her alone till her bleeding stops; then inflict the prescribed punishment on her. And inflict the prescribed punishment on those whom your right hands possess (i.e. slaves)”.''

*Abu Dawud (1:142) - ''"Do not beat your wife as you beat your slave-girl"''

===Stealing from non-Muslims===
The Koran and the various Hadiths encourage Muslims to steal from non-Muslims.
*Koran (8:69) - "So enjoy what you took as booty; the spoils are lawful and good."

*Koran (48:20) - "Allah promised you many acquisitions which you will take, then he hastened on this one for you and held back the hands of men from you, and that it may be a sign for the believers and that he may guide you on a right path."

*Koran (33:27) - "And he caused you to inherit their land and their houses and their wealth, and land ye have not trodden. Allah is ever able to do all things."

*Sahih Bukhari (53:351) - " Allah's Messenger said, "Booty has been made legal for me."

*Ibn Ishaq (327) - "Allah made booty lawful and good. He used it to incite the Muslims to unity of purpose. So enjoy what you have captured."

*Ibn Ishaq (503) - "Allah saw what was in their hearts [what they coveted] so he rewarded them with victory and with as much spoil as they could take. Allah promised that they would soon capture a great deal of booty.”

*Sahih Bukhari (44:668) - "We were in the company of the Prophet at Dhul-Hulaifa. The people felt hungry and captured some camels and sheep (as booty)..."

*Ahmad 4869 (also found in the original Hadith of Bukhari and Sahih al Jaami' AsSagheer 2828) - It is mentioned from Ibn ‘Umar from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, “I have been raised between the hands of the Hour with the sword, until Allah the Exalted is worshipped alone with no associates. He has provided sustenance from beneath the shadow of spears and has decreed humiliation and belittlement for those who oppose my order.”<ref>https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/quran/stealing.aspx</ref>

===Contamination of food given to non-Muslims===
There have been incidents where Muslims contaminate food given to Non-Muslims:
*In 2008, in the U.K, Saeed Hashmi and Jan Yadgari, the owners of a restaurant, sold chocolate cake sprayed with human feces.<ref>https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/07/uk-muslim-who-sprayed-food-with-feces-and-urine-cant-be-deported</ref>

*In July 2019, the local branch of ISIS in India planned to poison prasadam at a Hindu temple, to kill over 400 Hindu devotees. The suspects were arrested before they could do this.<ref>https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/terror-group-islamic-state-zakir-naik-mumbreshwar-temple-1573514-2019-07-25</ref>

*In August 2019, a Muslim vendor in the city of Meerut in India was caught mixing his Urine and Sperm in Biryani that he sold to Hindus.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LGuYkInllg</ref>

*On April 3, 2020, a Muslim fruit vendor in India was caught licking fruits before selling them.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPoFAe52uw4&feature=emb_title</ref>

*On May 8, 2020, a Muslim man by the name of Abdul Nazim Sheikh Mahmood was caught on video licking bread while cutting it. The incident occurred in Maharashtra, India.<ref>https://www.opindia.com/2020/05/maharashtra-man-arrested-in-amravati-after-video-of-him-spitting-on-bread-in-a-bakery-goes-viral-on-tiktok/</ref>

*On February 21, 2021, a Muslim man by the name of Sohail was caught on video spitting on Rotis while cooking for a wedding in the city of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, India.<ref>https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/watch-man-spits-on-tandoori-rotis-while-cooking-at-wedding-in-ups-meerut-arrested/723272</ref>

*On March 19, 2021, two Muslim men by the names of Sabi Anwar and Ibrahim were caught on camera spitting on Rotis that they were preparing.<ref>https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/2-staffers-held-for-spitting-on-rotis/article34103460.ece</ref>

===Restrictions===
Observant Muslims are not supposed to eat pork and in general do not have dogs as pets; both swine and canines are considered unclean. Muslims can have dogs for safety. Muslims are prohibited from drinking alcoholic beverages, gambling, and from collecting interest on financial transactions.

===Women in Islam===
[[File:Muslim girls at Istiqlal Mosque Jakarta Indonesia.jpg|left|thumb|240px|Muslim girls at Istiqlal [[Mosque]], Jakarta.]]
In pre-Islamic times women's rights were defined by tribal laws which differed among the tribes. Some women had absolute equity and the ability to hold power, while some women were treated worse than chattel; bride prices, unlimited polygamy, and female infanticide were a common theme. [[Sharia law|Islamic law]] offered a path for which Muslim men could regulate women in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence on the Arabian peninsula. Treated merely as individual sex objects, women were granted very limited rights but as distinct legal individuals; forced to marry who their parents tell them to, women are required not to directly object in order for the marriage contract to have some form of validity.

Unlike the pre-Islamic times where unlimited polygamy occurred, [[Sharia law]] limits [[polygamy]] to a maximum of four wives at any one time, though the use of "temporary" marriage in effect rendered this restriction meaningless. Once married, only men are entitled to divorce any time they please. The reality of traditional Sharia law as applied in the modern era has shocked the modern conscience.<ref>Linda Rae Bennett, ''Women, Islam and Modernity'' (2005)</ref> These restrictions on women were put into place over a thousand years ago, and there has been little progress since. Women are still not allowed to drive a [[car]], they cannot ride [[bicycle]]s, are unable to [[vote]], have been prohibited from traveling abroad without permission, and they can't use public facilities when men are present.

[[File:Sharia.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Muslim woman tortured under Sharia law.]]
Women in Islam are treated as inferiors to men in almost every regard and women's rights are all but non-existent in Islam, a fact conveniently ignored by the ideology's liberal allies (including in [[feminism]] and the [[mainstream media]]). In [[Sharia]], the testimony of one man equals that of five women. Women are required to cover the head and body in public, by wearing the hijab. Hijab is applied in different ways: a small scarf around the head and western street clothes may be acceptable in Cairo or Damascus but a full length opaque [[burqa]] was enforced in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. As of 2008, [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Iran]], and [[Pakistan]] are the most significant Middle Eastern countries where the government requires women to wear some form of restrictive garb, though cultural pressure in most Islamic countries offers women little choice but to submit to the dictat of hijab. Women who are claimed by their husbands or family to have disgraced their family are put to death in "[[honor killing]]s"; buried halfway or sometimes up to their neck so they cannot run, women, who are in most cases victims, are stoned to death.

====Honor killings====
Another violent practice continued in Islamic countries is [[honor killing]], in which a brother, father, or uncle "restores" or "defends" a family's honor by killing the sister, daughter, or niece that "dishonored" the family through supposedly "promiscuous" behavior. This "promiscuous" activity often includes women from Islamic societies living in the West aspiring to a more open lifestyle. The "honor killing" is more ancient, and pagan in origin, but tolerated and practiced more or less openly in some Islamic societies.

Some apologists might try to excuse or justify this practice by putting down this verse:

<blockquote>
'Because of that, We decreed...that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land - it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one - it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were transgressors.' -5:32. [http://quran.com/5/32].
</blockquote>

Notice the ellipses between decreed and that? I hope you did, and if you followed the link you would know that this was decreed to the Children of Israel, who would be the Jews. Now, how could this be a defense against honor killing in Islamic countries if this wasn't even given to Muslims? The answer lies in the very next verse:

<blockquote>
'Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive upon earth [to cause] corruption is none but that they be killed or crucified or that their hands and feet be cut off from opposite sides or that they be exiled from the land. That is for them a disgrace in this world; and for them in the Hereafter is a great punishment, Except for those who return [repenting] before you apprehend them. And know that Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.' (5:33-34) [http://quran.com/5/33] [http://quran.com/5/34]
</blockquote>

So what we get from that, unlike the Jews where it is a blessing not to commit murder, for Muslims, it is a deed for Allah to murder those who have "caused corruption". Among these that "cause corruption" could be one's daughter, sister, or wife who is not wearing the headscarf, praying five times a day, not fasting in Ramadan, becoming too Westernized, etc., and thus honor killing would be "justified" in their view. Of course if you look at the next verse, it says that you should be merciful to those who have repented -before you apprehend them. This implies that they will be terrorized, and then there self-preservation instinct will kick in and they will repent. But what about those who don't? What if one's female relative doesn't believe that the headscarf is necessary while you do? And what if she still believes the same way after you apprehend her? You follow 5:33. As Muhammed himself proclaimed:

<blockquote>
I have been made victorious with terror.'
-Bukhari 4.52.220 [http://www.quranexplorer.com/Hadith/English/Hadith/bukhari/004.052.220.html].
</blockquote>

====Female genital mutilation====
Female genital mutilation (also known as "female circumcision") is mentioned in Hadith as an "honorable" condition for a woman, and act to carry out. It is a pre-Islamic tradition in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, though not in Coptic Egypt as some Islamic apologists claim. Female genital mutilation is not called for nor is it supported by the Koran.

====Abortion====
Muslims see [[abortion]] as ''haram'' (forbidden), but accept it if the life of mother is at risk.<ref>https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/islamethics/abortion_1.shtml</ref>

====Islamic dress is regular grounds for conflict in multicultural education====
Treatment of women varies widely by country. In the Islamic state of Saudi Arabia women are forbidden from driving a car, traveling in public without their husband or a male family member as an escort, leaving their home without wearing Islamic dress, working or voting. Though not formally forbidden from owning property, they have no way of obtaining this as work is forbidden and only males are permitted to inherit – should a man die, his brothers, sons, and father will all inherit before his wife. These restrictions are part of Sharia law and enforced by the police and a special Islamic office. Pakistan has similar restrictions but to a lesser extent. In contrast, [[Turkey]] has a majority Muslim population and yet grants women some rights similar to those of men including property ownership, employment, and education to university level.

Islamic apologists suggest the extremely repressive policies of countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are cultural rather than religious, though these are the countries where traditional Islam is strongest. They point to the more moderate Islam practiced in Turkey as a demonstration that Islam and women's rights are compatible, ignoring the efforts of traditionalists in Turkey to end the few freedoms women were granted by men.

Islamic women's status is controversial. While Islamic men control and oppress Islamic women by compelling them to remain hidden behind the veil, sequestered in the home, and ignorant of the world by denying them access to education and worldly opportunities, Islamic apologists defend some practices. These men claim that many of the restrictions on women, such as the veil, are cultural traditions that pre-date Islam and are intended to protect women from predatory men. Unfortunately, such Islamic men ignore the fact that if a predatory man or group of rapists were to sexually assault an Islamic woman in Islam, she would be punished under Sharia law for "allowing" such an act to occur, and she would likely receive hundreds of lashes and years of jail time or be punished with death; the predatory man or men commonly go unpunished or only receive very light punishments at worst.

=== Atheism vs. Islam ===
From a global perspective, [[Europe]] is more secular/[[Atheism|atheistic]] than the rest of the world although it does have a considerable amount of religious immigrants who have higher birth rates (see: [[Secular Europe]] and [[Atheist population]] and [[Global atheism]]).

===Anti-science===
Modern science started in Christian Europe, not the Islamic world, and not even China. The Islamic world has not accomplished anything major in the sciences, unless copying counts. The Muslims borrowed their architecture from the Byzantines. For example, the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem was built and designed by Byzantine craftsmen. Thousands of years before Muhammad was born, the Greeks discovered algebra and the Persians built the first astrolabe, though no denying that the Arabs were influential in naming it. After Greece and China established academies with Syrian Christians starting the School of Nisibis, the first school of higher education to achieve university status was the University of Bologna, while Al-Ahzar University was established as a madrassa around 970 AD, but did not achieve university status until 990 years later; the first hospital was built by the heretical Nestorians. The Indian numerals were actually modified in Europe, but ironically, the Arabic language was the last one to adopt the modified version.

==Historical background==
According to Islamic belief, in approximately 610 A.D., [[Muhammad]], a 40-year-old merchant of the Quraysh tribe in [[Mecca]], located in the Hijaz (now eastern [[Saudi Arabia]]), was commanded by the angel [[Gabriel]] (or Jibreel) to "recite" the message of Allah (professed by adherents of Islam to be their god). Gabriel said mankind had lost sight of Allah's previous messages to earlier prophets, [[Adam]], [[Noah]], [[Abraham]], [[Moses]], [[Solomon]], and [[Jesus]], among others, and that Muhammad was to spread Allah's message to all people so that mankind would know how to live, how to show respect for Allah, and how to prepare for the judgment day.
[[File:Islam750.jpg|right|thumb|Map of the expansion of Islam]]
The message to Muhammad was to be Allah's last and fullest revelation, a direct copy of the Umm Al Khitab, the mother of all books located in heaven next to Allah; Muhammad was the "seal of the prophets." Muhammad won some converts to Islam in his local area, but his [[monotheist]] preaching threatened to undermine the profitable [[polytheist]] pilgrim traffic supporting many Meccan merchants. In 622 A.D., the merchants drove Muhammad and his followers out of Mecca to the city of Yathrib (later renamed [[Medina]], or the city – as in the city of the prophet). This flight (hijra) from Mecca to Medina marks the beginning of the Islamic lunar calendar, and is celebrated each year in the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Muhammad's forces, composed of the sahaba (companions) from Mecca, and the Ansar (allied tribes from Yathrib) started attacking the trade caravans going in and out of Mecca, cutting off its economic lifeline. After a series of battles between the Meccans and Muhammad's forces, Mecca finally accepted Muhammad's ultimatum to succumb and convert to Islam. The city welcomed the prophet back in 630. Muhammad died in 632.

Tribal elders in a traditional council called the "Shura" elected [[Abu Bakr]] to be Muhammad's successor, or [[Caliph]] (Khalifa). Abu Bakr united the tribes of the Arabian peninsula during his two years as head of the new faith. Upon his death, the elders elected [[Umar ibn al-Khattab]] the next Caliph. During Umar's ten-year reign, Islam invaded and spread through conquest and negotiation into [[Egypt]], [[Syria]], [[Palestine]], [[Iraq]], and parts of Persia (modern-day [[Iran]]). Umar was assassinated by a Persian in 644, and was succeeded by [[Uthman ibn Affan]], who continued the invasions to spread Islam into [[North Africa]], [[Cyprus]], the rest of Persia, [[Afghanistan]], and parts of [[India]] and [[Pakistan]]. Over the next two centuries, Islamic armies continued to expanded Islam's empire into sub-Saharan Africa, [[Spain]], South-east and Central Asia, and [[Turkey]].

The Muslim armies conquered and superseded the ancient Sassanid and Byzantine empires which had ruled before. Within a generation of Muhammad's death Islamic armies occupied an empire stretching from the Nile river to the far-off Persian province of Khorasan. Reasons for the rapid conquest are varied and obscure. The Arab armies were more akin to tribal war bands raiding and settling where and when they could. The Byzantine and Sassanid empires had been at war for centuries. The constant simmering conflict between Constantinople and Persia reached a climax in the early 7th century. The Sassanids conquered briefly Egypt and the Levant threatening the central Byzantine heartland of Anatolia. Under the military reforms of the emperor Heraclius, the Byzantine army consolidated and counterattacked, recapturing all that they had lost and capturing the Sassanian capital of Ctesiphon in 628.

This brief end of the Roman-Persian wars disrupted the frontier areas which had predicated their economies on raiding and mercenary activities. Two major areas in Arabia were directly affected. The Lackmid tribe and the Gassanid tribe both acted as mercenaries for the Persians and Romans. The official religion of both tribes analogically mirrored that of their overseers. Monophysite Christianity was common, particularly of the Jacobite sect. The death of Muhammad and the subsequent Ridda wars occupied these warrior tribes until the reign of Caliph Umar. Additionally, there was great religious unrest in the Levant and Egypt. These areas resented the ruinous taxes and the harsh orthodoxy imposed by the emperor in Constantinople.

The same climate was present in the Sassanid realm with the rise of the dualism of the Manicheans. Under the Caliph Umar, the Arab tribes which had concluded the infighting following the death of Muhammad were allowed to raid into the Byzantine and Sassanid frontiers. The weakened state of both regimes from both military and economic exhaustion and religious unrest made them fertile picking grounds for the tribal warbands. The Arabs were chiefly successful in holding these areas in that they upheld a lightweight regime of low taxes based on the Islamic laws and distant government. Rather than employing an army of bureaucrats and nobility, the early Arab empire was more favorable towards maintaining the existing government structures under the leadership of Arab tribes. In this atmosphere, it is hardly surprising to note the reports from both Islamic and Christian sources of peaceful capitulation and invitation of the invading forces.

[[File:Madina Haram at evening .jpg|center|800px|thumb|Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (the Mosque of the Prophet) in [[Medina]], [[Saudi Arabia]], the site of [[Muhammad|Muhammad's]] tomb.]]

=== Islam and war ===
''See also: [[Irreligion/religion and war]] and [[Islamic terrorism]] and [[Atheism vs. Islam]]''

In his book ''The Irrational [[Atheism|Atheist]]'', [[Vox Day]] wrote:
{{Cquote|It’s also interesting to note that more than half of these religious wars, sixty-six in all, were waged by Islamic nations, which is rather more than might be statistically expected considering that the first war in which Islam was involved took place almost three millennia after the first war chronicled in the ''Encyclopedia'', Akkad’s conquest of Sumer in 2325 B.C.

In light of this evidence, the fact that a specific religion is currently sparking a great deal of
conflict around the globe cannot reasonably be used to indict all religious faith, especially when one
considers that removing that single religion from the equation means that all of the other religious
faiths combined only account for 3.35 percent of humanity’s wars.<ref>[http://www.voxday.net/mart/TIA_free.pdf The Irrational Atheist - Abbreviated free copy on PDF]</ref>}}

===Islam and Christianity===
''See also: [[Dhimma]]''

While adherents of Islam do not believe Jesus to be the Son of God or in the Resurrection, they consider Him and His mother to be among Allah's most important prophets (Marian and Isa) otherwise known as Mary and Jesus. However, the Koran warns against worshipping Jesus, Muhammad, and other humans for fear of [[idolatry]].<ref>[http://www.ccg.org/_domain/ccg.org/Islam/Islam.htm Christian Churches of God Articles on Islam], March 10, 2007</ref>

The Koran states that non-believers will be punished, though the nature of the punishment is not specified (same as similar statements in the Bible and the Torah):

{{cquote|Surely, disbelievers are those who said:
'Allah is the third of the three (in a Trinity).' But there is no god but One, Allah.
And if they cease not from what they say, verily, a painful torment will befall the disbelievers among them.

Will they not repent to Allah and ask His Forgiveness? For Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.

The Messiah, son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger; many were the Messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a Siddiqah (i.e. she believed in the words of God and His Books ).
They both used to eat food (as any other human eat).
Look how We make the signs clear to them, yet look how they are deluded away (from the truth)."
}}
::(Koran 5:73-75)

However, Islam does recognize Christians and Jews as "people of the book" since both refer to one God only, and recognize Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic) as a founding prophet.

==Critics==
Most contemporary critics of Islam are either atheists or nominally religious: [[Ibn Warraq]] (author), [[Wafa Sultan]] (psychiatrist), [[Ayaan Hirsi Ali]] (author), [[Hugh Fitzgerald]] (of JihadWatch), [[Oriana Fallaci]] (author), [[Geert Wilders]] (politician), [[Sam Harris]] (author), [[Pamela Geller]] (blogger), [[Bill Maher]] (comedian) and the crowd at the Ayn Rand Institute. The notable exception is [[Robert Spencer]], who while a devout Catholic, criticizes Islam as the socio-political ideology it is. Political critics include [[Winston Churchill]],<ref>[http://thefederalistpapers.org/us/winston-churchills-brutal-takedown-of-islam-means-more-today-than-ever Winston Churchill’s Brutal Takedown of Islam Means More Today than Ever]</ref> [[Herman Cain]], [[Rick Santorum]],<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.news-press.com/article/20130323/NEWS0119/303230016/Santorum-delivers-warning-about-radical-Islam-during-Naples-appearance|title=Santorum delivers warning about radical Islam during Naples appearance|date=March 23, 2013|newspaper=Fort Meyers News Press|author=Lindsay Downey}}</ref> [[David Horowitz]] (author) and [[Pat Robertson]] (preacher). Neither [[Ronald Reagan]] (who helped mujahideen fight atheistic Communists) nor [[George W. Bush]] ("Islam means peace") saw Islam as the problem. Commentators note that the conservative response to fundamental Islam is a far cry from the complete and unequivocal condemnation of Communism during the heyday of the Cold War.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.liberty-and-culture.com/conservatives.html|title=The Conservative Response to the Islamic Threat.|author=Jason Pappas|date=Sept 5, 2004}}</ref> [[Dinesh D’Souza]] argues that Muslims are "God-fearing conservatives",<ref>{{cite book|author=Dinesh D’Souza|title=The Enemy At Home|year=2007|publisher= Doubleday}}</ref> even though they have formed convenient alliances with liberals and several Islamic countries (particularly Iran) have formed alliances with the Communist regimes in [[China]] and [[North Korea]] and the Marxist regime in [[Venezuela]] to oppose the United States and its Western allies.<ref>''Some of the text for this article was taken from "Islam: A Primer", Congressional Research Service Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain'' [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back]</ref>

===Ex-Muslims===
[[Michelle Malkin]] highlights a group of [[Ex-Muslims]] hoping to change the terms of debate about Islam in Europe. Maryam Namazie, the head of the British group said "Too many things in the media and government policies have been geared to pandering to the political Islamic movements and Islamic organizations."<ref>[http://michellemalkin.com/2007/06/20/ex-muslims-stand-up-in-britain/ Ex-Muslims stand up in Britain]</ref> Ex-Muslims include Ibn Warraq, Wafa Sultan, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Mark A. Gabriel, Walid Shoebat, and Mosab Hassan Yousef.

== See also ==
[[Image:Africa islam 87.jpg|thumb|Islam in Africa]]
*[[Arab American]]
*[[Islamic republic]]
*[[Islamophobia]]
*[[Qur'an]]
*[[Jihadism]], an extremist, take on Islam
*[[Ramadan]]
*[[In the midst of a Maelstrom: the Holy Spirit and silence: an essay]] encounter of Israeli Messianic Jew and Egyptian Muslim in Alexandria
*[[List of countries by number of Muslims]]
*[[Undercover Muslim]]
*[[Islamic worldviews]]
*[[Islamophilia]]
*[[Judaism and Islam]]
*[[Atheism vs. Islam]]
*[[Islam and Christianity]]

==Further reading==
* Armour, Rollin. ''Islam, Christianity, and the West: A Troubled History'' (2002) [https://www.amazon.com/Islam-Christianity-West-Troubled-History/dp/1570754071/ref=sr_1_32?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342713&sr=1-32 excerpt and text search]
* Armstrong, Karen. ''Islam: A Short History'' (2002) [https://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-Modern-Library-Chronicles/dp/081296618X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Berkey, Jonathan P. ''The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800'' (2002) [https://www.amazon.com/Formation-Islam-Religion-Society-600-1800/dp/0521588138/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342713&sr=1-27 excerpt and text search]
* Campo, Juan Eduardo. ''Encyclopedia of Islam'' (2009), basic introduction
* Esposito, John J. ''The Oxford History of Islam'' (2000) [https://www.amazon.com/Oxford-History-Islam-John-Esposito/dp/0195107993/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-6 excerpt and text search]
* Glasse, Cyril. ''The New Encyclopedia of Islam'' ( 2nd ed. 2008)
* Lewis, Bernard. ''Islam in History: Ideas, People, and Events in the Middle East'' (2001), by leading conservative historian [https://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-People-Events-Middle/dp/0812695186/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342525&sr=1-15 excerpt and text search]
* Martin, Richard C. et al. ''Encyclopedia of Islam & the Muslim World'' (2003), more advanced
* Newby, Gordon. ''A Concise Encyclopedia of Islam'' (2002) [https://www.amazon.com/Concise-Encyclopedia-Islam-Gordon-Newby/dp/1851682953/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342942&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]
* Robinson, Chase F. ed. ''The New Cambridge History of Islam'' (Volume 1) (2009), summarizes advanced scholarship
* Ruthven, Malise, and Azim Nanji. ''Historical Atlas of Islam'' (2004)
* Schimmel, Annemarie. ''Islam: An Introduction''. (1992)
* Sonn, Tamara and Mary Williamsburg. ''A Brief History of Islam'' (2004) [https://www.amazon.com/Brief-History-Blackwell-Histories-Religion/dp/1405109009/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-12 excerpt and text search]
* Wheatcroft, Andrew. ''Infidels: A History of the Conflict Between Christendom and Islam'' (2005) [https://www.amazon.com/Infidels-History-Conflict-Between-Christendom/dp/0812972392/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342525&sr=1-13 excerpt and text search]

==External links==
*[http://muslim-canada.org/islam_christianity.html Islam and Christianity] - excellent article comparing and contrasting the two.
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/ Qur'an online in English]
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/ Sahih Bukhari (Hadith collection) online in English]
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/ Sahih Muslim (Hadith collection) online in English]
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/abudawud/ Sunan Abu-Dawud (Hadith collection) online in English]
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muwatta/ Malik's Muwatta (Hadith collection) online in English]
* Congressional Research Service, "Islam: A Primer", Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain and the source of part of this article [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back]
*[http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2011/01/islamists-torch-pope-in-effigy-again.html Islamists Torch Pope in Effigy, Again]
*[http://www.tribecatrib.com/news/2010/december/849_kind-strangers.html Muslims Saving Jews During World War II.] By Shane Dixon Kavanaugh.
*[http://differencesbetween.com/islam-and-muslim/ Difference Between Islam and Muslim]
*[http://bertschlossberg.blogspot.com/ A Turkish Delight: they think so in Israel too!]
*[http://bertschlossberg.blogspot.com/ Turkey's Islamic scholar, Rabbi Meir Lau, and Cain speechless before Abel]

==References==
{{reflist|group=note}}

[[Category:Islam]]
[[Category:Political Ideologies]]
[[Category:Perpetrators of Cancel Culture]]

Juan Peron

2021-07-07T04:01:27Z

Andrewlee:

[[File:Juan Domingo Perón.jpg|200px|thumbnail|Juan Domingo Perón]]
'''Juan Domingo Perón''' (1895–1974) was the brutal dictator of [[Argentina]] from 1946 to 1955 and from 1973 to 1974. As head of an army group, he helped to overthrow [[Ramon Castillo]] in 1943. During his first Presidency, he was married to [[Eva Peron|Eva Perón]], the subject of the musical ''[[Evita (musical)|Evita]],'' who was very popular with the people.

Peron was very [[Anti-Americanism|anti-American]] and had close ties to [[Nazi Germany]]. He was excommunicated from the [[Catholic Church]] in case of his anti-[[Christian]] laws. Peron legalized divorce and [[prostitution]] and he banned religious instruction in public schools.<ref>http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/juan-per%C3%B3n-overthrown</ref>

Church and army opposition to [[corruption]] and [[repression]] forced Perón into exile in 1955, but he returned in 1973 to serve briefly as President once again.

He was a member of the [[Justicialist Party]]. While President, Peron was fond of putting government in charge. He nationalized the Merchant Marine,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=CweHgfPIceYC&pg=PA39 The Limits of Convergence: Globalization and Organizational Change in Argentina, South Korea, and Spain]</ref> the banks,<ref>[https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1081&context=senproj_s2018 Perón and the Argentine Paradox: An Investigation
into an Economic Mystery]</ref> the railroads,<ref>[https://nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/general-peron.pdf General Perón and the nationalisation of railways in Argentina]</ref> the telephone system,<ref>[https://worldpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/SAEN-2002-Argentina-struggles-stem-from-Per%C3%B3n-and-patronage.pdf Argentina struggles stem from Perón and patronage]</ref> and he also nationalized many utility companies.<ref>[https://economics.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Workshops-Seminars/Economic-History/alston-071114.pdf Electoral Fraud, the Rise of Peron and Demise of Checks and Balances in
Argentina]</ref> Additionally, the Institute for the Promotion of Trade (IAPI)<ref>Instituto Argentino de Promoción del Intercambio</ref> was formed as a [[single payer]] organization for grains, seed, and beef,<ref>[https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2015/01/30/perons-legacy-inflation-in-argentina-and-an-institutionalized-fraud/ Perón's Legacy: Inflation In Argentina, An Institutionalized Fraud]</ref> and formed an important part of his [[Five-Year Plan]].<ref>[http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,934050,00.html ARGENTINA: Five-Year Plan]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=RPWSAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA95 The Military and Domestic Politics: A Concordance Theory of Civil-Military Relations]</ref>

After the bombing of the Plaza de Mayo in 1955, Perón was overthrown that same year.

Perón went into exile in Paraguay, Panama, Nicaragua, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, and finally in Spain.

His second wife, a fascist named Eva Perón, supported him from 1946 to 1952, when she died of uterine cancer.

In 1961 he married María Estela Martínez in Spain, who later accompanied him as vice president in 1973 and succeeded him in his death.

==See also==
* [[Nationalization]]

== Sources ==
*The New American Desk Encyclopedia, Penguin Group, 1989
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peron, Juan}}

[[Category:Heads of State]]
[[Category:Argentina]]
[[Category:Dictators]]
[[Category:Left-wing Nationalism]]
[[Category:Catholic Politicians]]
[[Category:Catholics]]
[[Category:Socialists]]

Juan Peron

2021-07-04T08:10:47Z

Andrewlee:

[[File:Juan Domingo Perón.jpg|200px|thumbnail|Juan Domingo Perón]]
'''Juan Domingo Perón''' (1895–1974) was the brutal dictator of [[Argentina]] from 1946 to 1955 and from 1973 to 1974. As head of an army group, he helped to overthrow [[Ramon Castillo]] in 1943. During his first Presidency, he was married to [[Eva Peron|Eva Perón]], the subject of the musical ''[[Evita (musical)|Evita]],'' who was very popular with the people.

Peron was very [[Anti-Americanism|anti-American]] and had close ties to [[Nazi Germany]]. He was excommunicated from the [[Catholic Church]] in case of his anti-[[Christian]] laws. Peron legalized divorce and [[Prostitution]] and he banned religious instruction in public schools.<ref>http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/juan-per%C3%B3n-overthrown</ref>

Church and army opposition to [[corruption]] and [[repression]] forced Perón into exile in 1955, but he returned in 1973 to serve briefly as President once again.

He was a member of the [[Justicialist Party]]. While President, Peron was fond of putting government in charge. He nationalized the Merchant Marine,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=CweHgfPIceYC&pg=PA39 The Limits of Convergence: Globalization and Organizational Change in Argentina, South Korea, and Spain]</ref> the banks,<ref>[https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1081&context=senproj_s2018 Perón and the Argentine Paradox: An Investigation
into an Economic Mystery]</ref>, the railroads,<ref>[https://nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/general-peron.pdf General Perón and the nationalisation of railways in Argentina]</ref>, the telephone system,<ref>[https://worldpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/SAEN-2002-Argentina-struggles-stem-from-Per%C3%B3n-and-patronage.pdf Argentina struggles stem from Perón and patronage]</ref>, and he also nationalized many utility companies.<ref>[https://economics.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Workshops-Seminars/Economic-History/alston-071114.pdf Electoral Fraud, the Rise of Peron and Demise of Checks and Balances in
Argentina]</ref> Additionally, the Institute for the Promotion of Trade(IAPI)<ref>Instituto Argentino de Promoción del Intercambio</ref> was formed as a [[Single payer]] organization for grains, seed, and beef,<ref>[https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2015/01/30/perons-legacy-inflation-in-argentina-and-an-institutionalized-fraud/ Perón's Legacy: Inflation In Argentina, An Institutionalized Fraud]</ref> and formed an important part of his [[Five-Year Plan]].<ref>[http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,934050,00.html ARGENTINA: Five-Year Plan]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=RPWSAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA95 The Military and Domestic Politics: A Concordance Theory of Civil-Military Relations]</ref>

After the bombing of the Plaza de Mayo in 1955, Perón was overthrown that same year.

Perón went into exile in Paraguay, Panama, Nicaragua, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and finally in Spain.

His second wife, a fascist named Eva Perón, supported him from 1946 to 1952, when she died of uterine cancer.

In 1961 he married María Estela Martínez in Spain, who later accompanied him as vice president in 1973 and succeeded him in his death.

==See also==
* [[Nationalization]]

== Sources ==
*The New American Desk Encyclopedia, Penguin Group, 1989
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peron, Juan}}

[[Category:Heads of State]]
[[Category:Argentina]]
[[Category:Dictators]]
[[Category:Left-wing Nationalism]]
[[Category:Catholic Politicians]]
[[Category:Catholics]]
[[Category:Socialists]]

Sardis

2021-07-04T07:51:33Z

Andrewlee:

'''Sardis''' or '''Sardes''' was an ancient city at the location of modern Sart in [[Turkey]]'s Manisa Province. Sardis was the capital of the ancient [[kingdom]] of [[Lydia]], one of the important cities of the [[Persian Empire]].

==Book of Revelation==
As one of the Seven churches of [[Asia Minor|Asia]], it was addressed by [[John]], the author of the [[Book of Revelation]] in the [[Holy Bible]], in terms which seem to imply that its population was notoriously soft and fainthearted.

{{Bible Cities}}
[[Category:Biblical Places]]
[[Category:Turkey]]

Antioch

2021-07-04T07:47:31Z

Andrewlee:

'''Antioch''' was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It was founded in 300 B.C. by Seleucus Nicator, and became the capital of the [[Seleucid Empire]] and, in 64 B.C., the Asian capital of the [[Roman Empire]]. Its ruins lie near the current city of [[Antakya]], [[Turkey]], to which the ancient city lends its name.

Antioch was an important center of ancient [[Christianity]], being one of the first cities to really catch fire for [[Jesus]] and possibly the most important city in early Christendom after the early Church was forced to scatter. It was situated on the eastern rim of the Roman Empire close to the border of the warring Parthian Empire, and the city had a sizeable Aramaic speaking population as did the Parthian Empire. Antioch, with the Aramaic Kingdom of Adiabene with its capital city of Arbel, share the spotlight as the source both of the Aramaic translation of the Bible - the Pesh''i''ta, and of the eastward mission of the Church spreading the message of Christ through what is now Afghanistan, India, eventually even to China.

==See also==
*[[Aramaic Church]]
*[[Adiabene]]
*[[Aramaic]]

== Sources ==
*The New American Desk Encyclopedia, Penguin Group, 1989

[[Category:Biblical Places]]
[[Category:Roman Empire]]
[[Category:Turkey]]

{{Bible Cities}}

Antioch

2021-07-04T07:45:59Z

Andrewlee:

'''Antioch''' was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It was founded in 300 B.C. by Seleucus Nicator, and became the capital of the [[Seleucid Empire]] and, in 64 B.C., the Asian capital of the [[Roman Empire]]. Its ruins lie near the current city of [[Antakya]], [[Turkey]], to which the ancient city lends its name.

Antioch was an important center of ancient [[Christianity]], being one of the first cities to really catch fire for [[Jesus]] and possibly the most important city in early Christendom after the early Church was forced to scatter. It was situated on the eastern rim of the Roman Empire close to the border of the warring Parthian Empire, and the city had a sizeable Aramaic speaking population as did the Parthian Empire. Antioch, with the Aramaic Kingdom of Adiabene with its capital city of Arbel, share the spotlight as the source both of the Aramaic translation of the Bible - the Pesh''i''ta, and of the eastward mission of the Church spreading the message of Christ through what is now Afghanistan, India, eventually even to China.

==See also==
*[[Aramaic Church]]
*[[Adiabene]]
*[[Aramaic]]

== Sources ==

The New American Desk Encyclopedia, Penguin Group, 1989

[[Category:Biblical Places]] [[Category:Middle East]]

{{Bible Cities}}

Ephesus

2021-07-04T07:41:45Z

Andrewlee:

'''Ephesus''' was one of the most important cities of the [[Roman Empire]]. It was situated on the west coast of [[Anatolia]], near the modern [[Turkish]] city of [[Selçuk]].

Today, large remnants of the city have been partially restored, and it is now one of the most impressive examples of a complete Roman town centre to be seen.

Ephesus is also notable as the place where [[Saint Paul]] confronted the worshippers of [[Artemis]].

[[Category:Biblical Places]]
[[Category:Roman Empire]]
[[Category:Turkey]]

{{Bible Cities}}

Ephesus

2021-07-04T07:41:39Z

Andrewlee:

'''Ephesus''' was one of the most important cities of the [[Roman Empire]]. It was situated on the west coast of [[Anatolia]], near the modern [[Turkish]] city of [[Selcuk]].

Today, large remnants of the city have been partially restored, and it is now one of the most impressive examples of a complete Roman town centre to be seen.

Ephesus is also notable as the place where [[Saint Paul]] confronted the worshippers of [[Artemis]].

[[Category:Biblical Places]]
[[Category:Roman Empire]]
[[Category:Turkey]]

{{Bible Cities}}

Islam

2021-06-29T16:06:48Z

Andrewlee:

[[Image:Quran.jpg|thumb|right|Pages from the [[Koran]], the foundational text of the Islamic ideology, dictated by a single 7th-century author who claimed to have been inspired by a supernatural being whom Muslims call 'Allah'. If the Constitution is the highest law of the United States, then the Koran is the highest law of Islam.]]

[[Image:Mohammad.jpg|thumb|right|[[Muhammad]], the creator of Islam. Pictorial representations of Muhammad is considered making a graven image of a false god in Islam.]]
'''Islam''' or '''Mohammedanism''' is a major world [[Political|socio-political]] system<ref>[http://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm/frm/100100/sec_id/100100 Why Islam is Not a Religion], by Rebecca Bynum (Nov. 2011) Speech delivered October 18th to ACT! for America Chapter in Memphis Tennessee</ref> based on the teachings of [[Muhammad]] (sometimes Mohammed), a seventh-century [[Arab]]. Muhammad claimed descent from [[Ishmael]], the son of [[Abraham]]. Muhammad claimed to have received revelations from Allah, the entity which adherents of Islam claim to resemble the [[God]] of [[Judaism]] and [[Christianity]], via the archangel Gabriel, which were written in the [[Koran]] – thus forming the core teachings of Islam.

The Koran's singular authorship offers no corroborating evidence, as the four Gospels do for example, of testimony of independent eyewitness accounts to its claim of divine inspiration as the Mosaic Law requires,<ref>Dueteronomy 19:15 ''By the testimony of two is a matter established''. The testimony of one - Mohammad - is insufficient to convict the human race, or infidels, of sin, ''per the Law of Moses'' or the Koran itself which claims descent.</ref> from which the Koran's author borrowed selectively.

==Overview==
[[File:World Muslim Population Pew Forum.png|thumb|The Muslim population of the world map according to the Pew Forum 2009 report.]]
The word "Islam"<ref>Arabic الإسلام‎‎, specifically referring to submission to Allah</ref> means "submission" or "surrender" in [[Arabic language|Arabic]]. Islam, as originally designed in the Koran, presents itself as an "Abrahamic faith" and has [[Moses]] in it,<ref>Brannon Wheeler. Moses in the Koran and Islamic Exegesis. Routledge, 2002.</ref> as well as [[Jesus]] as a prophet in Islam,<ref>Muhammad Ata ur-Rahim, Ahmad Thomson. ''Jesus: Prophet of Islam''. TTQ, INC., 2003.</ref> and it specifically denies Jesus's divine nature.

<blockquote>
The world’s Islamic population is expected to increase by about 35% in the next 20 years, rising from 1.6 billion in 2010 to 2.2 billion by 2030, according to new population projections by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life. In the United States, for example, the population projections show the number of Muslims more than doubling over the next two decades, rising from 2.6 million in 2010 to 6.2 million in 2030.<ref>[http://www.pewforum.org/2011/01/27/the-future-of-the-global-muslim-population/ The Future of the Global Muslim Population.]</ref>
</blockquote>

Islam has been criticized for some time because of its demanding of strict submissiveness (especially of women), its suppression and violations of human rights (also including those of women), and its predisposition to being violent toward those of true religious faiths and attacking those faiths deemed a threat to Islam. There have been over 23,000 terrorist attacks committed by adherents of Islam since [[September 11, 2001 attacks|the Islamic terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001]].<ref>http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/</ref> A more recent strain of Islam has combined European totalitarianism and a virulent [[anti-Semitism]]. This version is called [[Jihadism#Lesser jihad|lesser jihad]], [[Islamism]], radical Islam, or militant Islam. Without the historic institution of the Caliph, this form degenerates into stateless terrorist activity that strikes at the heart of civilized man. Some who identify as Muslim have denounced the violent jihadism while others remain silent. Some Muslims and non-Muslims theorize that mainstream Islam has become corrupted over the years that there needs to be an [[Islamic Reformation]] similar to that of the [[Protestant Reformation]].<ref>Michaelle Browers, Charles Kurzman. An Islamic Reformation? Lexington Books, 2004.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.danielpipes.org/954/distinguishing-between-islam-and-islamism|title=Distinguishing between Islam and Islamism|author=Daniel Pipes|date=June 30, 1998}}</ref> The Reformation movements were costly and bloody for well over a century.
[[Image:Mecca.jpg|thumb|left|[[Mecca]], one of the holy cities of Islam.]]
There are small groups of largely Westernized Muslims who publicly reject Islamism. Such moderate Muslim conservatives are in the [[Republican Party]], known as the [[Muslim Republicans]].<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> One of America's Founding Fathers, [[Thomas Jefferson]], who was a religious [[libertarian]], declared: "''freedom for the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and the Mohammedan, the Hindu and infidel of every denomination''."<ref>John A. Garraty, Story of America Beginnings to 1877, (1992) Holt, Rinehart and Winston, pg 706.</ref>

Issues with Islam arose in the 2012 U.S. presidential campaign. Republican presidential candidate [[Mitt Romney]] said that "''Radical, violent Islamists pose a threat to Americans and others around the world.''" and that "''they take a very different view of Islam than the Muslims I know.''" Romney said that when he lived in Detroit he knew Muslims, as Detroit has a large Muslim population, and says "''They are peace-loving and America-loving individuals. I believe that very sincerely. I believe people of the Islamic faith do not have to subscribe to the idea of radical, violent jihadism.''<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> Former Republican presidential nominee candidate [[Ron Paul]], a libertarian conservative, says that America should not fear Islam and said that America should just embrace people of all faiths.<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> American conservative author Margaret Hoover believes that the Republican Party needs to recognize Muslim Republicans, noting an example of Muslim Republican youth Suhail Khan who she describes as "''one of thousands of Muslim Americans who work to promote Christian-Muslim understanding''".<ref>Margaret Hoover, ''American Individualism: How a New Generation of Conservatives Can Save the Republican Party'', Random House Digital, Inc., 2011, pg 202.</ref> Candidates for the Republican nomination like [[Newt Gingrich]] and [[Rick Santorum]] strongly criticized Islamic extremism.<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref>

[[Multiculturalism|Multiculturalists]] ignore or minimize violence in the history of Islam and exaggerate Christian atrocities to advance a [[moral equivalence]]. Proponents of this view often cite the [[Crusades|Great Crusades]]--an unsuccessful attempt by Western Christians to retake parts of the [[Byzantine Empire]] that had been conquered by Islamic armies--and various religious wars which were later fought in Europe between branches of Christianity. However, they brand critics of Islam "racists" (even though Islam is not a "race") and "[[Islamophobia|Islamophobes]]" (a smear term invented for the purpose of censoring and silencing legitimate criticism of Islam) for exposing today's threats by [[jihadism|jihadists]].<ref>http://www.bcbsr.com/topics/charity.html</ref>

A follower of Islam is called a "[[Muslim]]" (rarely "Moslem"), a term which means "one who submits (to Allah)." The older terms "Mohammedan" and "Muhammedan" ("follower of Muhammad"), have fallen out of use.<ref>Additional archaic terms for Muslims include "Hagarene", "Musselman", and "Saracen." Saracen as a term for Muslims was limited to the Crusades era, although it makes frequent re-appearances in pre-modern polemics. Hagarene was a more common term in pre-modern works, as it denotes the Biblical connection of Hagar, the mother of Ishmael, who is claimed to be a patriarch of Islam. Additional names for Muslims in pre-modern and Medieval works are generally derived from misspellings.</ref>

Because of its history of terrorism, mass murder and suicide attacks, Islam, and those who adhere to it, are sometimes generally perceived as having no regard toward human life.<ref>[https://www.conservativenewsandviews.com/2017/07/09/human/permanent-rage-islam/ The Permanent Rage of Islam] at Conservative News and Views</ref>

==Theology==
[[File:Kaaba.jpg|thumb|Masjid al-Haram, the holiest site in Islam.]]

There are no clergy, but there are religious teachers, or [[Imam]]s, who have their followings. All Muslims are supposed to follow the teachings of Muhammad, whom they believe to be Allah's<ref>Arabic الله</ref> last and greatest [[prophet]] (although Jesus, in Matthew 7:15-20, warned "Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves. You will recognize them by their fruit. Grapes are not gathered from thorns or figs from thistles, are they? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree is not able to bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree to bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will recognize them by their fruit", which serves to explicitly describe Muhammad and such like him). The teachings of Muhammad are transmitted through the [[Koran]], the Hadith, and the Sunnah. The Sunnah is a general term for "the life and doings of the Prophet", which all Muslims are called on to replicate. Islam claims that the Archangel [[Gabriel]] appeared to Muhammad in a cave reciting verbatim a revelation from Allah. The first word that Gabriel says to Muhammad is "Iqra" or "Recite/Proclaim", which is found in the 96th Sura of the Koran.

Muslims believe that Allah revealed the Koran to Muhammad. The key miracle of Islam comes from the historical condition of the illiterate and uneducated Muhammad, as the Koran is composed in an erudite and complex form of Arabic prose and poetry.<ref>Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created- Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,- He Who taught (the use of) the pen,- Taught man that which he knew not.(Surah 96:1-5)</ref> The Koran was not written down in a systematic fashion until a decade after Muhammad died, preferable transmission being through oral recitation. The Koran is claimed by Muslims to be the pure and holy word of Allah, uncreated and eternal. In Islamic belief, the term uncreated is very important, as it implies that there is no author for the Koran, only the delivering of the word to Muhammad who delivered it to the Sahab and the Salaf (The Companions and the Pure), who delivered it to the scribe delegated to record it in the reign of the Caliph Uthman bin Affan.

Islam teaches fundamental contradictions about the nature of Allah. Allah is said to be all-powerful, yet impotent to have a son (Surah 6:100-101). The idea of Allah having offspring is mocked,<ref>"Limitless is He is His glory, and sublimely exalted above anything that men may devise by way of definition: the Originator of the heavens and the earth! How could it be that He should have a child without there ever having been a mate for Him - since it is He who has created everything, and He alone knows everything?" - Surah 6:100-101.</ref> and this limitation of his power differentiates Allah from the Christian God. Allah is a very angry god who loves only those who swear allegiance to him, and hates non-believers. To serve Allah is to hate Allah's enemies with the same divine hatred that Allah hates non-believers (Surah 5:54). This stands in direct contrast to John 3:16.

In Islamic theology, Allah, the alleged maker of heaven and earth (Surah 6:100), is impotent to have a son (Surah 6:101). Human beings, with the ability to reproduce themselves, possess powers Allah is incapable of.

===Divisions within Islam===
Uthman was assassinated in 656 A.D. by soldiers who then installed Ali ibn Abu Talib, Muhammad's son-in-law, as [[Caliph]]. Ali's followers believed Muhammad had chosen Ali to be Muhammad's heir, and had disagreed with the selections of Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman as Caliphs. Ali's claim to the position was challenged by Muawiyah, a kinsman of the murdered Uthman. Five years later, Ali was assassinated by Kharjites, dissidents who broke away from the main body of Islam because they rejected Ali's accepting arbitration to resolve his leadership dispute with Muawiyah. Ali's supporters, or the Shiah al-Ali (or Shiat Ali, partisans of Ali) believed that Ali was the true Caliph and was, in part, divinely inspired. Ali's sons, Hassan and Husayn followed as [[Shia]] Caliphs, Hassan dying in 669 or 670 A.D., possibly by poisoning, and Husayn slain by soldiers of his rival, the [[Sunni]] Caliph Yazid, in 680 A.D.

The Shia Islamic community has divided further as followers coalesced around several of Ali's descendants or successors, called [[Imam]]s. The "twelvers," predominant in Iran, believe the twelfth Imam is in hiding and will reveal himself just before judgment day. Ismailis rejected the seventh Imam and practice a spirituality that seeks hidden meaning in scripture. Ismailis ruled much of [[North Africa]] as the [[Fatimid Dynasty]] of [[Egypt]] in the tenth through the twelfth centuries, and today are found primarily in [[Pakistan]], [[Afghanistan]], and [[India]]. The Sunni majority reject the premise that men can be divine, including Muhammad, Ali, or Jesus, and did not accept any of the Imams who followed Ali. Sunnis remain more committed to traditions and less inclined to accept Shia mysticism. Today, about 15% of the world's Muslims are Shia and 85% are orthodox Sunni.

There are other factions within Islam. Sufis, a name possibly derived from the wool garments they wear, developed around mystical practices and trance-induced revelations. Sufis are found today in [[Turkey]], [[Syria]], and parts of [[Africa]]. One of the most famous modern followers of Sufism was American professional boxer [[Muhammad Ali]] in his later years. Other movements have taken reform tracks, such as the Unitarians of [[Saudi Arabia]], also called [[Wahhabi]]s after their 18th-century reformist founder Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. The conservative Wahhabis are found today in Saudi Arabia and [[Qatar]]. Today the Wahhabi line has a tendency to produce extremists, such as [[Osama Bin Laden]]. Some critics would argue that the [[Taliban]] of Afghanistan took conservative reform to an extreme. Other sects or break-away groups include, among others, the Alawis found in Syria and Turkey, the [[Druze]] in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Israel, the Ibadhis (Kharjites) in Oman and Africa, the Ahmadiya of Pakistan, and the Zaydis of Yemen.

==Origins==
Like Christianity and Judaism, Islam originated in the Middle East. Islam claims to trace its roots back to Abraham through his son Ishmael. Muslims do not believe that Muhammad was the founder of Islam, rather they claim that he restored the original faith of Abraham and the prophets that followed as recorded in the lost books of the Tawrat and Injil.

Based upon this belief, the [[Bible]], both the [[Old Testament|Old]] and [[New Testament]]s, is claimed by adherents of Islam to have become corrupted through the [[Bible translations|translations and misinterpretations]] accumulated over several millennia. The criticism of the [[Torah]] centers around the reconstruction of the existing Biblical text required after the "[[Babylon]]ian captivity". The criticism of the New Testament centers in the many disputed gnostic texts which contradict the orthodox biblical canon. Interestingly, Islamic jurisprudence accepts that the Injil was complete and whole up until the revelation of Muhammad. Therefore, there is some inconsistency in the claims made against the New Testament. For more information, see [[The Bible versus the Qur'an|The Bible versus the Koran]].

Muhammad spent many years attempting to unite disparate polytheistic Arab tribes in the power vacuum created by the fall of the [[Roman Empire]] through recitations of his epic poem, which borrowed heavily from Hebrew scriptures and dietary laws, meeting with only limited success. He was eventually driven out of Mecca by the powers that be for challenging state authority, an event known as the ''Hijra'' or "Flight from Mecca" which marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar.

Eventually Muhammad was summoned back to Mecca by a faction of sympathizers, mainly tribal family members, as political chaos engulfed the city. Muhammad conquered the city after a prolonged siege with attacks on the civilian population and hundreds of beheadings to any who refused to accept his claims to a divine mission of carrying out the will of Allah. The doctrine of abrogation (''nashk'') in Islamic scholarship teaches that the later instructions of Mohammad supersede any earlier contradictory verses in the Koran.<ref>http://www.quranicstudies.com/books/abrogation-in-the-quran-and-islamic-law/</ref> Hence was born political Islam,<ref>https://www.politicalislam.com/abrogation-and-the-koran/</ref> a doctrine of war, conquest, and vengeance, over any earlier utterances which teach Islam a religion of peace. Peace only exists in Islam insofar as all Islam's enemies are subjugated.

==Terminology==
Additional archaic terms for Muslims include, but are not limited to, "Hagarene" and "Saracen." The term Hagarene was more common in post-crusade Europe as it made specific reference to the Biblical mother of Ishmael. In Islam, Ishmael plays an analogous theological role to Isaac. Muslims do not use it today to avoid confusing worship of [[Muhammad]] with worship of [[Allah]].<ref>Schimmel, (1992)</ref>

==Islamic guidance==
During his lifetime, Muhammad's companions learned and later transcribed the verses (surrahs) of the Koran as Muhammad spoke them. In Islam, the teachings of Mohammed were believed to be direct divine revelation from Allah.

The third Caliph, Uthman, collected and codified the various versions of the surrahs into one written Koran that became the standard Arabic text used by the world's Muslims today. The Koran is longer than the Bible and written in general order of longest chapters to shortest rather than in any order of when they were spoken, sometimes making the work appear to be confusing. In all there are 114 chapters. Most of the later recorded sayings of Mohammed, which were also more warlike, actually appear earlier in the text. Present-day Muslims look first to the Koran as a guide to life, then to the [[Sunnah]], or the way of the Prophet (his life as an example for others) as recorded by his early companions, and then to the [[Hadith]], a collection of the Prophet's sayings, comments, advice, and descriptions.

Frequently, Muslims disagreed over how to interpret certain passages in the Qur'an, the Sunnah, or the Hadith in their search for the ideal life and perfect path to heaven. From these interpretations Sunni Muslims developed four schools of law, or interpretations of law, named after their founders or early leaders: the Hanbali, considered the most strict school and predominant today in Saudi Arabia; Shafi, the school of widest acceptance, found in Egypt, parts of Palestine-Syria, south Arabia, and the Far East; Maliki, prevalent in North Africa, Sudan, and Nigeria; and Hanafi, considered the most moderate school, predominant in Ottoman Turkey and today found primarily on the Levant and Indian subcontinent. Frequently, Islamic countries have two separate legal systems, one for civil, criminal, or commercial law, and a second, and separate, system for religious law. Religious courts and their judges (qadis) might handle issues dealing with marriage, divorce, child custody, inheritance, religious education, charitable or religious property (Waqf), or family matters. Among Middle Eastern countries, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen have Shariah courts serving alongside their secular courts or have adopted [[Sharia]]h (Islamic law) as the basis of their legal systems.

===Five pillars of Islam===
*'''[[Shahadah]] (Profession of Faith)''' -The Shahadah is the Muslim profession of faith. 'ašhadu 'al-lā ilāha illā-llāhu wa 'ašhadu 'anna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh, a loose English translation reads "''There is none worthy of worship except Allah, and [[Muhammad]] is the messenger of Allah''" This testament can be seen as the foundation of all of the other tenets of Islam and swears off the divinity of Christ. For the Christian believer, the Shahada is essentially an [[oath]] renouncing the divinity of [[Christ]], "But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father who is in heaven." (Matt 10:33).

*'''[[Salat]] (Ritual Prayer)''' -All Muslims are required to pray to Allah five times each day while facing [[Mecca]]. Praying six times a day is considered willful disobedience to Allah, ''per shariah law'', an act punishable by death.<ref>The example is used by Prof. Quinten Wiktorowitz of an extremist considered by Muslim "moderates" as one who loves Allah so much he defies Allah's instructions. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10576100500497004</ref><ref>[https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://archives.cerium.ca/IMG/pdf/WIKTOROWICZ_2006_Anatomy_of_the_Salafi_Movement.pdf&ved=0ahUKEwiXlY7EttfTAhVF02MKHRExBFwQFggcMAA&usg=AFQjCNH4tKyamYaRwVVY8j23A0VjTOOWJg&sig2=zIzwl9aecd3zpGkLsveV0g "Despite the success of the Prophet’s mission and the growth of Islam, Salafis believe human desires continue to grip Muslims and challenge the purity of the message. In this view, there is an eternal temptation to manipulate and distort the religion through innovation. Although nefarious interests often drive deviancy, it can also result from good intentions. Muslims who pray more than the explicitly proscribed five times a day, for example, are likely motivated by love for God. They are, however, still engaged in innovation because they are inventing new practices to fulfill a human desire." p.4 pdf]</ref>

*'''Zakat (Charity)''' Zakat is often described as charitable giving. Able Muslims must donate to the poor based on the wealth one has accumulated. In current usage it is interpreted as 2.5% of [[net worth]] held for a full lunar year. However, funding violent jihad by wealthy Muslims has been ruled a form of ''zakat'' by Islamic scholars, a requirement to fulfill their Islamic duty under the five pillars. There exists the poor, unemployed, and unemployable jihadis, and the ignorant (''jahiliyya'') infidel masses in need if Islamic enlightening, hence funding terrorism is considered charitable work.

*'''Sawm (Fasting)''' All able-bodied Muslims (children, pregnant women, the elderly, and the ill are exempt) must not eat during the daylight hours of the entire month of [[Ramadan]]. According to Muslims, this purifies the body and soul. Although Muslims and their mainstream media surrogates refer to it as a "fast," this in no way aligns with traditional Christian and Judaic concepts of fasting, and indeed violates the basic concept. Torturing oneself in an outward display of [[piety]] is deemed hypocritcal by the [[monotheist]]ic traditions of Christianity and Judaism. Some Islamic sects allow military, police and emergency services personnel to receive an exemption from fasting from an imam, on the grounds that their work supports the community or national good.

*'''Hajj (Pilgrimage)''' All able-bodied Muslims must make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lives. Many without funds for a round trip never made it back, having been sold off in the slave auction market place at [[Taif]].<ref>https://youtu.be/emRVkisdbhc</ref>

===Sharia===
[[Image:StarCresent.png|thumb|right|220px|The Star and Crescent is a symbol of Islam. It is featured in the national flag of [[Algeria]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Malaysia]], [[Tunisia]], [[Uzbekistan]], [[Mauritania]], [[Pakistan]], and [[Turkey]], amongst others]]
[[Sharia]] is the body of Islamic law. The term means "way" or "path"; it is the legal framework within which public and some private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Islamic principles of jurisprudence. It is not actually part of the canonical Koran; that is to say, it is not believed to be the direct word of Allah by Muslims, but rather the interpretation of it.

Sharia deals with many aspects of day-to-day life, including politics, economics, banking, business law, contract law, sexuality, marriage, divorce, and social issues. Most Islamic scholars regard Sharia as the body of precedent and legal theory established during the early stages of the Islamic Empire, though a few scholars also believe contemporary legal cases can and should shape the law, though such thinkers may be subject to ridicule and even threats from Islamists and their liberal allies.

Sharia law proscribes often brutal punishments for acts, that, in the western world, are relatively minor. For example, under sharia law, turning away from Islam is punishable by death,<ref>[http://www.ntpi.org/html/whyoppose.html]</ref> while women found guilty of adultery is punishable by stoning to death, which often includes many rape victims, as Sharia courts often regard a rape victim as guilty of adultery unless she can provide four witnesses to the act of rape.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6148590.stm</ref> In cases involving the death penalty of corporal punishment, methods of carrying out the punishment are often barbaric, and include public beheading, chopping off of the hand, and flogging.<ref>http://saudiwoman.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/punishment-in-saudi-arabia/</ref> Many Islamic groups have been attempting to have Shariah courts set up in European countries, initially to rule over civil cases between Muslims in Europe.<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,422661,00.html</ref>

The need by Islam's adherents to add to and retain followers in its ideology through Sharia, deceit, force and intimidation, particularly through threats of death against those who leave Islam or who levy legitimate criticism against it for its barbaric ways and history, would indicate that overall, Islam is a weak ideology that would not withstand criticism or exposure of the truth of its ways and history. To facilitate retaining its membership and to keep the truth about Islam under wraps, its adherents have formed convenient alliances with sympathetic liberals in politics, academia, the courts, the mainstream media and Hollywood to deceive the public about Islam and what it really is, as well as to censor and silence critics of Islam through ridicule, false accusations of "racism", "hate speech" and "Islamophobia" and the illegal use of the legal system to punish critics.<ref>[http://nationalpost.com/news/weaponization-of-free-speech-prompts-talk-of-a-new-hate-law?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NP_Top_Stories+%28National+Post+-+Top+Stories%29 "Weaponization" of free speech prompts talk of a new hate law] at the ''National Post''</ref>

===Ulemah ===
Sunni Islam does not have a priesthood or clerical hierarchy to conduct religious services or interpret scripture, but it does have prayer leaders, called Imams, and religious scholars, called Ulemah,<ref>"Umma and ulemah" would be roughly equivalent to "laity and clergy".</ref> who often are educated men familiar with the Koran and able to offer commentaries on Koranic verses. Sunni Muslims also respect the teachings and interpretations of scholars, judges, and academics who may interpret laws, write treatises on Sharia (religious law) or Hadith, and issue Fatwas, religious rulings or declarations intended to enlighten or guide Muslims. These religious scholars issue legal rulings on various questions in contemporary life, such as the use of toilet paper which Islamic law previously forbade,<ref>https://nypost.com/2015/04/08/muslims-can-now-use-toilet-paper-turkeys-top-religious-authority/</ref> transgenderism,<ref>https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-transgender/pakistani-clerics-declare-transgender-marriages-legal-under-islamic-law-idUSKCN0ZD1IZ</ref> conjugal relations in marriage during the menstrual cycle<ref>http://aliftaa.jo/QuestionEn.aspx?QuestionId=2667#.YGOXVtKSncs</ref> or use of bug zappers.<ref>https://www.islamweb.net/en/fatwa/198619/killing-insects-with-electric-insect-killer</ref>

Shia Islam has a hierarchy that resembles a priesthood. Mullahs are prayer leaders, but usually do not interpret religious law. Mujtahids are religious scholars who may interpret law or passages from the Koran or Hadith. The lower order of Mujtahids are called Hojjatolislam. Ayat Allah (literally sign of Allah, also Ayatollah) is a higher order of Mujtahid who may issue Fatwas, or religious edicts, in addition to leading Islamic schools, interpreting religious law and the Koran, and offering sermons or discourses on proper Islamic behavior.

== Converts to Islam ==
People who turn to Islam from legitimate religions or from nontheism commit ideologically motivated crimes such as [[jihadism|jihadist]] [[terrorism]], [[hate speech]], [[discrimination]], and [[fraud]]: [http://web.archive.org/web/20190327113206/https://wikiislam.net/wiki/Converts_to_Islam A list of converts to Islam]. As has been witnessed many times, people who turn to Islam become radicalized and divide the world into two groups: Muslims ("people who surrender to Allah") and non-Muslims (''kafir''s, i.e. people who think differently).

==Today==
[[File:2012 Sydney protest.jpg|thumb|Some non-Muslims feel threatened by the unforgiving nature of the ideology of Islam.]]
Islam is the world's largest socio-political ideology, with over 1.6 billion followers, and is claimed to be the fastest-growing ideology in America.<ref>[http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/the-fastest-growing-religion-in-america-is-islam]</ref> This rapid growth is mainly due to conversions, high birth rates, and convenient redefinitions of the term "Muslim". Conversions to Christianity (from ''any'' faith or lack thereof) outnumber those to Islam, but are keeping up with the birthrate discrepancy.<ref>[http://www.bible.ca/global-religion-statistics-world-christian-encyclopedia.htm World Christian Encyclopedia]</ref><ref>[http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles6/AlJazeerahAfrica.php Translation of AL-Jazeerah interview between Maher Abdallah and Shiekh Ahmed Katani]</ref>

Islamic doctrine, including what is taught in [[North America]], teaches that 1 John 4:9, "God is love", is a false doctrine.<ref>http://www.arabicbible.com/for-christians/1313-christians-common-questions-about-islam.html?start=2</ref> The doctrine of ''Al-Wala wal-Bara'' teaches true faith is measured in sharing Allah's hatred of the ''kufr'', non-believers, or infidels.<ref>http://www.meforum.org/3545/islam-hatred-non-muslim</ref> In other words, Islamic doctrine teaches that Allah hates his own creation, sinful man, which John 3:16 teaches, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son." ''Al-Wala wal-Bara'', or divine hatred, is used to justify terrorist attacks. The believing Muslim feels he is carrying out Allah's will in killing Allah's enemies. Rather than the [[atonement|atoning]] blood of Jesus for sinful man, the murder of infidels and attacks on their societal institutions and national governments is aimed at blotting out evil in the world.

Even Orthodox Judaism teaches that Jehovah loves sinners. Psalm 138:8, for example, says, "The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands."

[[Indonesia]] has the largest Islamic population in the world.

=== Future of Islam in Europe and the desecularization of Europe ===
''See also: [[Atheism vs. Islam]] and [[Secular Europe]]''
[[File:Europe pol 2004.jpg|thumbnail|right|325px|In 2014, the Pew Research Forum indicated that [[Europe]] will go from 11% of the world's population to 7% of the world's population by 2050.<ref>[https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/02/03/10-projections-for-the-global-population-in-2050/ 10 projections for the global population in 2050] By Rakesh Kochhar, Pew Research Forum, February 3, 2014</ref>]]

In April 2010, Eric Kaufmann indicated concerning the future of Islam in Europe:
{{cquote|I address this in some detail in the book, as well is in a [http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/features/europes-muslim-future recent article in the April issue of Prospect magazine] here in Britain. The short answer is that I don’t foresee a Muslim-majority Europe in this century or in the next. Why? Mainly because Muslim birthrates are plunging both in Europe and the Muslim world. Already, Iran, Tunisia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and several other Muslim countries have replacement-level fertility or below. In the UK, Bangladeshi and Pakistani fertility has halved in a generation and is now under 3 children per woman. This means their long-term growth will begin to tail off. The other part of the equation is the rise of non-Muslim immigrant groups (African and West Indian Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and other Eastern faiths) who are also increasing and therefore making Europe more plural and, in the process, rendering it harder for Muslims to increase their share of the population.

That said, Muslim membership retention and in-group marriage is exceptionally high (over 90 per cent) and they are a much younger population than the host society. So they are on course for steady growth. My colleagues and I expect their fertility to fall to host levels by 2030, but they will still make up 5-15 per cent of most West European countries by 2050 and 10-25 per cent by 2100. This is a major change from the 2-6 per cent levels of today<ref>[http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/shall_the_religious_inherit_the_earth/#sthash.nE0JGi2Y.dpuf ''Shall the religious inherit the earth?''], 2010 Interview with [[Eric Kaufmann]] by MercatorNet</ref>}}

Due to the growing number of Muslims moving into secular Europe/[[Western World]] and the ideological differences between the [[atheist worldview]] and Islam, there has been growing tension between [[atheism|atheists]]/secularists and Muslims - particularly between [[Militant atheism|militant atheists]] and militant Islam.

The [[New Atheism|New Atheists]] [[Richard Dawkins]], [[Sam Harris]] and the late [[Christopher Hitchens]] have received multiple accusations of engaging in "[[Islamophobia|Islamophobic]]" behavior.<ref>
*[https://www.salon.com/2013/03/30/dawkins_harris_hitchens_new_atheists_flirt_with_islamophobia/ Dawkins, Harris, Hitchens: New Atheists flirt with Islamophobia] by Nathan Lean, ''Salon'', March 30, 2013
*[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/apr/03/sam-harris-muslim-animus Sam Harris, the New Atheists, and anti-Muslim animus] by Glenn Greenwald, ''The Guardian'', April 3, 2013</ref> On the other hand, defenders of atheist criticisms of Islam/Muslims indicated that New Atheists should be able to criticize Islam without being accused of "Islamophobia".<ref>[http://www.newstatesman.com/religion/2013/04/new-atheism-should-be-able-criticise-islam-without-being-accused-islamophobia New Atheism should be able to criticise Islam without being accused of Islamophobia] by Andrew Zak Williams, ''New Statesman'', Published 19 April 2013</ref>

For more information, please see:

*[[Atheism vs. Islam]]
*[[Atheism vs. Christianity]]

==Other aspects of Islam==
===Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem===
Muhammad's home city of Mecca was the site of his earliest preaching and conversions, and is the location of the Kaaba, traditionally held to be the foundation stone of the first mosque built by Adam and later restored by Abraham, and now the focus of the annual pilgrimage (hajj). Some historians suggest that the Kaaba, a black stone probably meteoric in origin, was venerated by pre-Islamic polytheistic religions.

At first, Jerusalem was claimed by Islam to be its holy city and the focus of prayers, but Mecca became the center of Islam after Muhammad's return in 630. Medina, because of its early association with Muhammad and as the site of Muhammad's tomb, is second in importance to Mecca. Jerusalem is revered by Muslims as the site of Solomon's temple, Abraham's near-sacrifice of his son Ishmael, and the scene of Muhammad's miraculous midnight journey, the latter two now enshrined in the [[Dome of the Rock]] mosque. According to the Koran (Surrah 17:1, Isra) and Hadith, Muhammad and Gabriel were taken on winged mules from Mecca to Jerusalem, where they ascended through the seven heavens to the presence of Allah. During the visit, Muhammad learned, among other points, that Muslims were to pray five times each day and to honor Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and the other prophets.

===People of the Book===
Christians and Jews are called "people of the Book" in the Koran and are considered earlier forerunners to Islam and viewed as brothers as long as they pay an extra tax when under Islamic rule. Islam, which claims roots tracing back to Abraham through his son Ishmael instead of Isaac as the Jews did, believes that they are the descendants of Allah's promise. Islam claims that both the Old and New Testament were corrupted and corrected by the Koran (though in truth, it is the Koran itself which plagiarized from and corrupted Biblical scripture), but there is still an earlier link claimed between the two religions and Islam. The view of Jews and Christians varied within different parts of the Koran and Islamic history. Much of current Islamic culture, even in places that were once very tolerant such as Egypt, has seen an upsurge in persecution and violence against Christians and Jews.

===Jihad===
Jihad is the "struggle" each Muslim is called to against unbelievers (infidels). Participation in jihad in Allah's cause was the third most important good deed listed in the Hadith, after prayer and honoring one's parents. Jihad was a rallying cry for the military spread of Islam in the seventh through tenth centuries against non-Muslims, and is the same reason for Islamic terrorism and war today. 
Some Muslim apologists in the western world say that jihad refers to the difficulties a Muslim faces in the everyday trials of life, such as the effort to get better grades in school, or the striving to achieve better results from a job, or the struggle to avoid sinful temptations. It is, they say, the internal struggle of good and evil, or the pure and the impure. However, this is simply a fabrication, which has been publicly labeled as such by Muslim scholars in the middle east. Nonetheless, even some mosques not teach this, fostering a more peaceful version of Islam. Unfortunately, it is not based on the Koran and the Hadith, but rather modern revisions. Any Muslim believing this peaceful version can be corrected based on these sacred books, and thus become "radicalized."

====Violent passages of the Koran championed by Islam====
In its passages, the Koran has advocated adherents of Islam to commit acts of violence, hatred and insurrection against those who do not follow that ideology (in particular, Jews and Christians) or are critical of it, to subjugate Judaism, Christianity and other religions to Islam and to force the followers of legitimate religions to submit and adhere to Islam.<ref>[https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/quran/violence.aspx What Does Islam Teach About Violence]</ref><ref>[https://thereligionofpeace.com/pages/quran/hell-and-hate.aspx What Does Islam Teach About Hell and Hate]</ref> Not surprisingly, attempts at pointing out the violence advocated by the Koran have been met with denials and excuses by Islamic apologists, who engage in [[taqiyya]] by claiming that the critics of the violent passages took those passages "out of context" and that "critics only quote the part which (suits) them" while the apologists do exactly what they accuse the critics of doing.<ref>[https://discover-the-truth.com/2014/08/12/quran-2191-and-kill-them-wherever-you-find-them-explained/ Quran 2:191- ‘And kill them wherever you find them…’ Explained] - an attempt by Islamic apologists to excuse violent passages of the Koran by offering deceitful explanations of what they claim those passages "really mean"</ref><ref>[http://islam101.com/terror/verse8_12.htm The Holy Quran, verse 8:12], from another Islamic apologist site which excuses the violent passages of the Koran and attacks its critics by claiming "Some non-Muslims either through ignorance or Islam-bashing continue taking the verses of the Holy Quran out of context and its history to justify their false propaganda"</ref><ref>[https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/games/discover-truth/verses/47-4.aspx "Discover the Truth's" Game] - a refutation of the claims and excuses made by the Islamic apologist site Discover the Truth regarding Koran 47:4</ref><ref>[https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2005/01/jihad_quran_9123_v_matthew_103.html Jihad: Quran 9:123 v. Matthew 10:34] at American Thinker</ref><ref>[https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/06/obama_quotes_verse_532_omits_5.html Obama quotes (Koran) verse 5:32, omits 5:33] at American Thinker</ref> Among the more violent and hateful passages of the Koran are these:

*Koran 2:191 - “Slay the unbelievers wherever you find them.”
*Koran 9:123 - “Make war on the infidels living in your neighborhood.”
*Koran 9:5 - “When opportunity arises kill the infidels wherever you catch them.”
*Koran 3:85 - “Any religion other than Islam is not acceptable.”
*Koran 9:30 - “The Jews and the Christians are perverts; fight them.”
*Koran 5:33 - “Maim and crucify the infidels if they criticize Islam”
*Koran 9:28 - “The infidels are unclean; do not let them into a mosque.”
*Koran 22:19 - “Punish the unbelievers with garments of fire, hooked iron rods, boiling water; melt their skin and bellies.”
*Koran 47:4 - “Do not hanker for peace with the infidels; behead them when you catch them.”
*Koran 8:65 - “The unbelievers are stupid; urge the Muslims to fight them.”
*Koran 3:28 - “Muslims must not take the infidels as friends.”
*Koran 8:12 - “Terrorize and behead those who disbelieve (in Allah).”
*Koran 8:60 - “Muslims must muster all weapons to terrorize the infidels.”

====Osama bin Laden and fundamentalists====
[[Osama bin Laden]], a follower of [[Wahhabism]], stated that Islam is at war with the United States and its allies. Some observers claim that the number of Islamic fundamentalists is growing and poses a threat to the West.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.danielpipes.org/255/islamic-fundamentalists-are-the-new-big-threat-to-the-west|title=Islamic Fundamentalists are the New Big Threat to the West|author=Daniel Pipes|newspaper=Philadelphia Inquirer|date=Sept 16, 1994}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.city-journal.org/html/rev2006-06-04td.html|title=All or Nothing: The quest for a moderate Islam may be futile.|date=June 4, 2006|author=Theodore Dalrymple|newspaper=Cite Journal}}</ref> But other observers differentiate between conservative "fundamentalists" and the "extremists" who follow murderers such as bin Laden or other terrorists.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://townhall.com/columnists/dineshdsouza/2008/09/15/who_speaks_for_islam/page/full/|title=Who Speaks For Islam|author=Dinesh D'Souza|newspaper=Townhall|date=Sept 15, 2009}}</ref> In several major Islamic nations, bin Laden had the support of the majority of people in the early years after the 9/11 attacks. As he lost battles with the West and started to target fellow Muslims his popularity waned.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewglobal.org/2012/04/30/on-anniversary-of-bin-ladens-death-little-backing-of-al-qaeda/|title=On Anniversary of bin Laden’s Death, Little Backing of al Qaeda|date=April 30, 2012|publisher=Pew Research Center}}</ref>

===Islam and forced conversion===
The Quran and the various Hadiths teach Muslims to fight Non-Muslims until they are killed, converted, or in a permanent state of subjugation.
*Quran (8:38-39) - “Say to those who have disbelieved, if they cease (from disbelief) their past will be forgiven... And fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief and polytheism: i.e. worshipping others besides Allah) and the religion (worship) will all be for Allah Alone [in the whole of the world ]. But if they cease (worshipping others besides Allah), then certainly, Allah is All-Seer of what they do.”

*Quran (9:29) - "Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued."

*Quran (9:5) "But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war); but if they repent, and establish regular prayers and practice regular charity, then open the way for them..."

*Quran (9:11) - (Continued from verse 9:5) "But if they repent and establish worship and pay the poor-due, then are they your brethren in religion"

*Quran (9:56-57) - "And they swear by Allah that they are most surely of you, and they are not of you, but they are a people who are afraid (of you). If they could find a refuge or cave or a place to enter into, they would certainly have turned thereto, running away in all haste."

*Quran (2:193) - "And fight them until fitna is no more, and religion be only for Allah. But if they desist, then let there be no hostility except against wrong-doers."

*Qur'an (3:83) - "Are they seeking a religion other than Allah's, when every soul in the heavens and the earth has submitted to Him, willingly or by compulsion?"

*Sahih Muslim (1:33) The Messenger of Allah said: "I have been commanded to fight against people till they testify that there is no god but Allah, that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, and they establish prayer and pay zakat."

*Sahih Muslim (19:4294) - "When you meet your enemies who are polytheists (which includes Christians), invite them to three courses of action. If they respond to any one of these, you also accept it and withhold yourself from doing them any harm. Invite them to (accept) Islam; if they respond to you, accept it from them and desist from fighting against them ... If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the Jizya. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah's help and fight them"

*Sahih Bukhari (84:59) - "Allah's Apostle said, 'I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.' And if they say so, pray like our prayers, face our Qibla and slaughter as we slaughter, then their blood and property will be sacred to us and we will not interfere with them except legally and their reckoning will be with Allah.'"

*Sahih Bukhari (53:392) - "While we were in the Mosque, the Prophet came out and said, "Let us go to the Jews" We went out till we reached Bait-ul-Midras. He said to them, "If you embrace Islam, you will be safe. You should know that the earth belongs to Allah and His Apostle, and I want to expel you from this land. So, if anyone amongst you owns some property, he is permitted to sell it, otherwise you should know that the Earth belongs to Allah and His Apostle."

*Sahih Bukhari (2:24) - "Allah's Apostle said: "I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight against the people until they testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah's Apostle, and offer the prayers perfectly and give the obligatory charity, so if they perform a that, then they save their lives and property from me except for Islamic laws and then their reckoning (accounts) will be done by Allah."

*Sahih Bukhari (60:80) - "The Verse:--'You (true Muslims) are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind.' means, the best of peoples for the people, as you bring them with chains on their necks till they embrace Islam."

*Sahih Bukhari (60:40) - "...:And fight them till there is no more affliction (i.e. no more worshiping of others along with Allah)."

*Sahih Bukhari (59:643) - "Testify that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah, or else I will chop off your neck!"

*Ibn Kathir v.4 p.133, Ibn Ishaq/Hisham 959 - "Then the apostle sent Khalid bin Walid… to the Banu al-Harith and ordered him to invite them to Islam three days before he attacked them. If they accepted then he was to accept it from them, and if they declined he was to fight them. So Khalid set out and came to them, and sent out riders in all directions inviting the people to Islam, saying, 'If you accept Islam you will be safe.' So the men accepted Islam as they were invited."

*Ibn Kathir (Commenting on Quran 2:256 in the unabridged version of his tafsir) - "Therefore all people of the world should be called to Islam. If anyone of them refuses to do so, or refuses to pay the jizya, they should be fought till they are killed."

===Islam and slavery===
*Quran (33:50) - ''"O Prophet! We have made lawful to thee thy wives to whom thou hast paid their dowers; and those (slaves) whom thy right hand possesses out of the prisoners of war whom Allah has assigned to thee"
''
*Quran (23:5-6) - ''"..who abstain from sex, except with those joined to them in the marriage bond, or (the captives) whom their right hands possess..."
''
*Quran (4:24) - ''"And all married women (are forbidden unto you) save those (captives) whom your right hands possess."
''
*Quran (8:69) - ''"But (now) enjoy what ye took in war, lawful and good"''

*Quran (24:32) - ''"And marry those among you who are single and those who are fit among your male slaves and your female slaves..."''

*Quran (2:178) - ''"O ye who believe! Retaliation is prescribed for you in the matter of the murdered; the freeman for the freeman, and the slave for the slave, and the female for the female."
''
*Quran (16:75) - ''"Allah sets forth the Parable (of two men: one) a slave under the dominion of another; He has no power of any sort; and (the other) a man on whom We have bestowed goodly favours from Ourselves, and he spends thereof (freely), privately and publicly: are the two equal? (By no means;) praise be to Allah."
''
*Sahih Bukhari (41.598) - Muhammad establishes that slaves are property. They cannot be freed if an owner has outstanding debt, but they can be used to pay off the debt<ref>https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/quran/slavery.aspx</ref>

*Sahih Bukhari (62:137) - Gives an account of women taken as slaves in battle by Mohammed's men after their husbands and fathers were killed. The women were raped with Mohammed's approval.

*Sahih Bukhari (34:432) - Another account of women taken captive and raped with Mohammed's approval. In this case it is evident that the Muslims intend on selling the women after raping them because they are concerned about devaluing their price by impregnating them. Muhammad is asked about coitus interruptus.

*Sahih Bukhari (47:765) - A woman is rebuked by Mohammed for freeing a slave girl. The prophet tells her that she would have gotten a greater heavenly reward by giving her to a relative (as a slave).

*Sahih Bukhari (2:15:103) - ''"I was watching the display of black slaves in the mosque..."''

*Sahih Bukhari (59:637) - ''"The Prophet sent Ali to Khalid to bring the Khumus (of the booty) and I hated Ali, and Ali had taken a bath (after a sexual act with a slave-girl from the Khumus). I said to Khalid, 'Don't you see this (i.e. Ali)?' When we reached the Prophet I mentioned that to him. He said, 'O Buraida! Do you hate Ali?' I said, 'Yes.' He said, 'Do you hate him, for he deserves more than that from the Khumlus.'"''

*Abu Dawud (2150) - ''"The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) sent a military expedition to Awtas on the occasion of the battle of Hunain. They met their enemy and fought with them. They defeated them and took them captives. Some of the Companions of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) were reluctant to have intercourse with the female captives in the presence of their husbands who were unbelievers. So Allah, the Exalted, sent down the Qur’anic verse: (Quran 4:24) 'And all married women (are forbidden) unto you save those (captives) whom your right hands possess.'"
''
*Abu Dawud (1814) - ''"...[Abu Bakr] He then began to beat [his slave] him while the Apostle of Allah (pbuh) was smiling and saying: Look at this man who is in the sacred state (putting on ihram), what is he doing?"
''
*Abu Dawud (38:4458) - ''Narrated Ali ibn AbuTalib: “A slave-girl belonging to the house of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) committed fornication. He (the Prophet) said: Rush up, Ali, and inflict the prescribed punishment on her. I then hurried up, and saw that blood was flowing from her, and did not stop. So I came to him and he said: Have you finished inflicting (punishment on her)? I said: I went to her while her blood was flowing. He said: Leave her alone till her bleeding stops; then inflict the prescribed punishment on her. And inflict the prescribed punishment on those whom your right hands possess (i.e. slaves)”.''

*Abu Dawud (1:142) - ''"Do not beat your wife as you beat your slave-girl"''

===Stealing from non-Muslims===
The Koran and the various Hadiths encourage Muslims to steal from non-Muslims.
*Koran (8:69) - "So enjoy what you took as booty; the spoils are lawful and good."

*Koran (48:20) - "Allah promised you many acquisitions which you will take, then he hastened on this one for you and held back the hands of men from you, and that it may be a sign for the believers and that he may guide you on a right path."

*Koran (33:27) - "And he caused you to inherit their land and their houses and their wealth, and land ye have not trodden. Allah is ever able to do all things."

*Sahih Bukhari (53:351) - " Allah's Messenger said, "Booty has been made legal for me."

*Ibn Ishaq (327) - "Allah made booty lawful and good. He used it to incite the Muslims to unity of purpose. So enjoy what you have captured."

*Ibn Ishaq (503) - "Allah saw what was in their hearts [what they coveted] so he rewarded them with victory and with as much spoil as they could take. Allah promised that they would soon capture a great deal of booty.”

*Sahih Bukhari (44:668) - "We were in the company of the Prophet at Dhul-Hulaifa. The people felt hungry and captured some camels and sheep (as booty)..."

*Ahmad 4869 (also found in the original Hadith of Bukhari and Sahih al Jaami' AsSagheer 2828) - It is mentioned from Ibn ‘Umar from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, “I have been raised between the hands of the Hour with the sword, until Allah the Exalted is worshipped alone with no associates. He has provided sustenance from beneath the shadow of spears and has decreed humiliation and belittlement for those who oppose my order.”<ref>https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/quran/stealing.aspx</ref>

===Contamination of food given to non-Muslims===
There have been incidents where Muslims contaminate food given to Non-Muslims:
*In 2008, in the U.K, Saeed Hashmi and Jan Yadgari, the owners of a restaurant, sold chocolate cake sprayed with human feces.<ref>https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/07/uk-muslim-who-sprayed-food-with-feces-and-urine-cant-be-deported</ref>

*In July 2019, the local branch of ISIS in India planned to poison prasadam at a Hindu temple, to kill over 400 Hindu devotees. The suspects were arrested before they could do this.<ref>https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/terror-group-islamic-state-zakir-naik-mumbreshwar-temple-1573514-2019-07-25</ref>

*In August 2019, a Muslim vendor in the city of Meerut in India was caught mixing his Urine and Sperm in Biryani that he sold to Hindus.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LGuYkInllg</ref>

*On April 3, 2020, a Muslim fruit vendor in India was caught licking fruits before selling them.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPoFAe52uw4&feature=emb_title</ref>

*On May 8, 2020, a Muslim man by the name of Abdul Nazim Sheikh Mahmood was caught on video licking bread while cutting it. The incident occurred in Maharashtra, India.<ref>https://www.opindia.com/2020/05/maharashtra-man-arrested-in-amravati-after-video-of-him-spitting-on-bread-in-a-bakery-goes-viral-on-tiktok/</ref>

*On February 21, 2021, a Muslim man by the name of Sohail was caught on video spitting on Rotis while cooking for a wedding in the city of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, India.<ref>https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/watch-man-spits-on-tandoori-rotis-while-cooking-at-wedding-in-ups-meerut-arrested/723272</ref>

*On March 19, 2021, two Muslim men by the names of Sabi Anwar and Ibrahim were caught on camera spitting on Rotis that they were preparing.<ref>https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/2-staffers-held-for-spitting-on-rotis/article34103460.ece</ref>

===Restrictions===
Observant Muslims are not supposed to eat pork and in general do not have dogs as pets; both swine and canines are considered unclean. Muslims can have dogs for safety. Muslims are prohibited from drinking alcoholic beverages, gambling, and from collecting interest on financial transactions.

===Women in Islam===
[[File:Muslim girls at Istiqlal Mosque Jakarta Indonesia.jpg|left|thumb|240px|Muslim girls at Istiqlal [[Mosque]], Jakarta.]]
In pre-Islamic times women's rights were defined by tribal laws which differed among the tribes. Some women had absolute equity and the ability to hold power, while some women were treated worse than chattel; bride prices, unlimited polygamy, and female infanticide were a common theme. [[Sharia law|Islamic law]] offered a path for which Muslim men could regulate women in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence on the Arabian peninsula. Treated merely as individual sex objects, women were granted very limited rights but as distinct legal individuals; forced to marry who their parents tell them to, women are required not to directly object in order for the marriage contract to have some form of validity.

Unlike the pre-Islamic times where unlimited polygamy occurred, [[Sharia law]] limits [[polygamy]] to a maximum of four wives at any one time, though the use of "temporary" marriage in effect rendered this restriction meaningless. Once married, only men are entitled to divorce any time they please. The reality of traditional Sharia law as applied in the modern era has shocked the modern conscience.<ref>Linda Rae Bennett, ''Women, Islam and Modernity'' (2005)</ref> These restrictions on women were put into place over a thousand years ago, and there has been little progress since. Women are still not allowed to drive a [[car]], they cannot ride [[bicycle]]s, are unable to [[vote]], have been prohibited from traveling abroad without permission, and they can't use public facilities when men are present.

[[File:Sharia.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Muslim woman tortured under Sharia law.]]
Women in Islam are treated as inferiors to men in almost every regard and women's rights are all but non-existent in Islam, a fact conveniently ignored by the ideology's liberal allies (including in [[feminism]] and the [[mainstream media]]). In [[Sharia]], the testimony of one man equals that of five women. Women are required to cover the head and body in public, by wearing the hijab. Hijab is applied in different ways: a small scarf around the head and western street clothes may be acceptable in Cairo or Damascus but a full length opaque [[burqa]] was enforced in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. As of 2008, [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Iran]], and [[Pakistan]] are the most significant Middle Eastern countries where the government requires women to wear some form of restrictive garb, though cultural pressure in most Islamic countries offers women little choice but to submit to the dictat of hijab. Women who are claimed by their husbands or family to have disgraced their family are put to death in "[[honor killing]]s"; buried halfway or sometimes up to their neck so they cannot run, women, who are in most cases victims, are stoned to death.

====Honor killings====
Another violent practice continued in Islamic countries is [[honor killing]], in which a brother, father, or uncle "restores" or "defends" a family's honor by killing the sister, daughter, or niece that "dishonored" the family through supposedly "promiscuous" behavior. This "promiscuous" activity often includes women from Islamic societies living in the West aspiring to a more open lifestyle. The "honor killing" is more ancient, and pagan in origin, but tolerated and practiced more or less openly in some Islamic societies.

Some apologists might try to excuse or justify this practice by putting down this verse:

<blockquote>
'Because of that, We decreed...that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land - it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one - it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were transgressors.' -5:32. [http://quran.com/5/32].
</blockquote>

Notice the ellipses between decreed and that? I hope you did, and if you followed the link you would know that this was decreed to the Children of Israel, who would be the Jews. Now, how could this be a defense against honor killing in Islamic countries if this wasn't even given to Muslims? The answer lies in the very next verse:

<blockquote>
'Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive upon earth [to cause] corruption is none but that they be killed or crucified or that their hands and feet be cut off from opposite sides or that they be exiled from the land. That is for them a disgrace in this world; and for them in the Hereafter is a great punishment, Except for those who return [repenting] before you apprehend them. And know that Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.' (5:33-34) [http://quran.com/5/33] [http://quran.com/5/34]
</blockquote>

So what we get from that, unlike the Jews where it is a blessing not to commit murder, for Muslims, it is a deed for Allah to murder those who have "caused corruption". Among these that "cause corruption" could be one's daughter, sister, or wife who is not wearing the headscarf, praying five times a day, not fasting in Ramadan, becoming too Westernized, etc., and thus honor killing would be "justified" in their view. Of course if you look at the next verse, it says that you should be merciful to those who have repented -before you apprehend them. This implies that they will be terrorized, and then there self-preservation instinct will kick in and they will repent. But what about those who don't? What if one's female relative doesn't believe that the headscarf is necessary while you do? And what if she still believes the same way after you apprehend her? You follow 5:33. As Muhammed himself proclaimed:

<blockquote>
I have been made victorious with terror.'
-Bukhari 4.52.220 [http://www.quranexplorer.com/Hadith/English/Hadith/bukhari/004.052.220.html].
</blockquote>

====Female genital mutilation====
Female genital mutilation (also known as "female circumcision") is mentioned in Hadith as an "honorable" condition for a woman, and act to carry out. It is a pre-Islamic tradition in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, though not in Coptic Egypt as some Islamic apologists claim. Female genital mutilation is not called for nor is it supported by the Koran.

====Abortion====
Muslims see [[abortion]] as ''haram'' (forbidden), but accept it if the life of mother is at risk.<ref>https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/islamethics/abortion_1.shtml</ref>

====Islamic dress is regular grounds for conflict in multicultural education====
Treatment of women varies widely by country. In the Islamic state of Saudi Arabia women are forbidden from driving a car, traveling in public without their husband or a male family member as an escort, leaving their home without wearing Islamic dress, working or voting. Though not formally forbidden from owning property, they have no way of obtaining this as work is forbidden and only males are permitted to inherit – should a man die, his brothers, sons, and father will all inherit before his wife. These restrictions are part of Sharia law and enforced by the police and a special Islamic office. Pakistan has similar restrictions but to a lesser extent. In contrast, [[Turkey]] has a majority Muslim population and yet grants women some rights similar to those of men including property ownership, employment, and education to university level.

Islamic apologists suggest the extremely repressive policies of countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are cultural rather than religious, though these are the countries where traditional Islam is strongest. They point to the more moderate Islam practiced in Turkey as a demonstration that Islam and women's rights are compatible, ignoring the efforts of traditionalists in Turkey to end the few freedoms women were granted by men.

Islamic women's status is controversial. While Islamic men control and oppress Islamic women by compelling them to remain hidden behind the veil, sequestered in the home, and ignorant of the world by denying them access to education and worldly opportunities, Islamic apologists defend some practices. These men claim that many of the restrictions on women, such as the veil, are cultural traditions that pre-date Islam and are intended to protect women from predatory men. Unfortunately, such Islamic men ignore the fact that if a predatory man or group of rapists were to sexually assault an Islamic woman in Islam, she would be punished under Sharia law for "allowing" such an act to occur, and she would likely receive hundreds of lashes and years of jail time or be punished with death; the predatory man or men commonly go unpunished or only receive very light punishments at worst.

=== Atheism vs. Islam ===
From a global perspective, [[Europe]] is more secular/[[Atheism|atheistic]] than the rest of the world although it does have a considerable amount of religious immigrants who have higher birth rates (see: [[Secular Europe]] and [[Atheist population]] and [[Global atheism]]).

===Anti-science===
Modern science started in Christian Europe, not the Islamic world, and not even China. The Islamic world has not accomplished anything major in the sciences, unless copying counts. The Muslims borrowed their architecture from the Byzantines. For example, the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem was built and designed by Byzantine craftsmen. Thousands of years before Muhammad was born, the Greeks discovered algebra and the Persians built the first astrolabe, though no denying that the Arabs were influential in naming it. After Greece and China established academies with Syrian Christians starting the School of Nisibis, the first school of higher education to achieve university status was the University of Bologna, while Al-Ahzar University was established as a madrassa around 970 AD, but did not achieve university status until 990 years later; the first hospital was built by the heretical Nestorians. The Indian numerals were actually modified in Europe, but ironically, the Arabic language was the last one to adopt the modified version.

==Historical background==
According to Islamic belief, in approximately 610 A.D., [[Muhammad]], a 40-year-old merchant of the Quraysh tribe in [[Mecca]], located in the Hijaz (now eastern [[Saudi Arabia]]), was commanded by the angel [[Gabriel]] (or Jibreel) to "recite" the message of Allah (professed by adherents of Islam to be their god). Gabriel said mankind had lost sight of Allah's previous messages to earlier prophets, [[Adam]], [[Noah]], [[Abraham]], [[Moses]], [[Solomon]], and [[Jesus]], among others, and that Muhammad was to spread Allah's message to all people so that mankind would know how to live, how to show respect for Allah, and how to prepare for the judgment day.
[[File:Islam750.jpg|right|thumb|Map of the expansion of Islam]]
The message to Muhammad was to be Allah's last and fullest revelation, a direct copy of the Umm Al Khitab, the mother of all books located in heaven next to Allah; Muhammad was the "seal of the prophets." Muhammad won some converts to Islam in his local area, but his [[monotheist]] preaching threatened to undermine the profitable [[polytheist]] pilgrim traffic supporting many Meccan merchants. In 622 A.D., the merchants drove Muhammad and his followers out of Mecca to the city of Yathrib (later renamed [[Medina]], or the city – as in the city of the prophet). This flight (hijra) from Mecca to Medina marks the beginning of the Islamic lunar calendar, and is celebrated each year in the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Muhammad's forces, composed of the sahaba (companions) from Mecca, and the Ansar (allied tribes from Yathrib) started attacking the trade caravans going in and out of Mecca, cutting off its economic lifeline. After a series of battles between the Meccans and Muhammad's forces, Mecca finally accepted Muhammad's ultimatum to succumb and convert to Islam. The city welcomed the prophet back in 630. Muhammad died in 632.

Tribal elders in a traditional council called the "Shura" elected [[Abu Bakr]] to be Muhammad's successor, or [[Caliph]] (Khalifa). Abu Bakr united the tribes of the Arabian peninsula during his two years as head of the new faith. Upon his death, the elders elected [[Umar ibn al-Khattab]] the next Caliph. During Umar's ten-year reign, Islam invaded and spread through conquest and negotiation into [[Egypt]], [[Syria]], [[Palestine]], [[Iraq]], and parts of Persia (modern-day [[Iran]]). Umar was assassinated by a Persian in 644, and was succeeded by [[Uthman ibn Affan]], who continued the invasions to spread Islam into [[North Africa]], [[Cyprus]], the rest of Persia, [[Afghanistan]], and parts of [[India]] and [[Pakistan]]. Over the next two centuries, Islamic armies continued to expanded Islam's empire into sub-Saharan Africa, [[Spain]], South-east and Central Asia, and [[Turkey]].

The Muslim armies conquered and superseded the ancient Sassanid and Byzantine empires which had ruled before. Within a generation of Muhammad's death Islamic armies occupied an empire stretching from the Nile river to the far-off Persian province of Khorasan. Reasons for the rapid conquest are varied and obscure. The Arab armies were more akin to tribal war bands raiding and settling where and when they could. The Byzantine and Sassanid empires had been at war for centuries. The constant simmering conflict between Constantinople and Persia reached a climax in the early 7th century. The Sassanids conquered briefly Egypt and the Levant threatening the central Byzantine heartland of Anatolia. Under the military reforms of the emperor Heraclius, the Byzantine army consolidated and counterattacked, recapturing all that they had lost and capturing the Sassanian capital of Ctesiphon in 628.

This brief end of the Roman-Persian wars disrupted the frontier areas which had predicated their economies on raiding and mercenary activities. Two major areas in Arabia were directly affected. The Lackmid tribe and the Gassanid tribe both acted as mercenaries for the Persians and Romans. The official religion of both tribes analogically mirrored that of their overseers. Monophysite Christianity was common, particularly of the Jacobite sect. The death of Muhammad and the subsequent Ridda wars occupied these warrior tribes until the reign of Caliph Umar. Additionally, there was great religious unrest in the Levant and Egypt. These areas resented the ruinous taxes and the harsh orthodoxy imposed by the emperor in Constantinople.

The same climate was present in the Sassanid realm with the rise of the dualism of the Manicheans. Under the Caliph Umar, the Arab tribes which had concluded the infighting following the death of Muhammad were allowed to raid into the Byzantine and Sassanid frontiers. The weakened state of both regimes from both military and economic exhaustion and religious unrest made them fertile picking grounds for the tribal warbands. The Arabs were chiefly successful in holding these areas in that they upheld a lightweight regime of low taxes based on the Islamic laws and distant government. Rather than employing an army of bureaucrats and nobility, the early Arab empire was more favorable towards maintaining the existing government structures under the leadership of Arab tribes. In this atmosphere, it is hardly surprising to note the reports from both Islamic and Christian sources of peaceful capitulation and invitation of the invading forces.

[[File:Madina Haram at evening .jpg|center|800px|thumb|Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (the Mosque of the Prophet) in [[Medina]], [[Saudi Arabia]], the site of [[Muhammad|Muhammad's]] tomb.]]

=== Islam and war ===
''See also: [[Irreligion/religion and war]] and [[Islamic terrorism]] and [[Atheism vs. Islam]]''

In his book ''The Irrational [[Atheism|Atheist]]'', [[Vox Day]] wrote:
{{Cquote|It’s also interesting to note that more than half of these religious wars, sixty-six in all, were waged by Islamic nations, which is rather more than might be statistically expected considering that the first war in which Islam was involved took place almost three millennia after the first war chronicled in the ''Encyclopedia'', Akkad’s conquest of Sumer in 2325 B.C.

In light of this evidence, the fact that a specific religion is currently sparking a great deal of
conflict around the globe cannot reasonably be used to indict all religious faith, especially when one
considers that removing that single religion from the equation means that all of the other religious
faiths combined only account for 3.35 percent of humanity’s wars.<ref>[http://www.voxday.net/mart/TIA_free.pdf The Irrational Atheist - Abbreviated free copy on PDF]</ref>}}

===Islam and Christianity===
''See also: [[Dhimma]]''

While adherents of Islam do not believe Jesus to be the Son of God or in the Resurrection, they consider Him and His mother to be among Allah's most important prophets (Marian and Isa) otherwise known as Mary and Jesus. However, the Koran warns against worshipping Jesus, Muhammad, and other humans for fear of [[idolatry]].<ref>[http://www.ccg.org/_domain/ccg.org/Islam/Islam.htm Christian Churches of God Articles on Islam], March 10, 2007</ref>

The Koran states that non-believers will be punished, though the nature of the punishment is not specified (same as similar statements in the Bible and the Torah):

{{cquote|Surely, disbelievers are those who said:
'Allah is the third of the three (in a Trinity).' But there is no god but One, Allah.
And if they cease not from what they say, verily, a painful torment will befall the disbelievers among them.

Will they not repent to Allah and ask His Forgiveness? For Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.

The Messiah, son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger; many were the Messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a Siddiqah (i.e. she believed in the words of God and His Books ).
They both used to eat food (as any other human eat).
Look how We make the signs clear to them, yet look how they are deluded away (from the truth)."
}}
::(Koran 5:73-75)

However, Islam does recognize Christians and Jews as "people of the book" since both refer to one God only, and recognize Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic) as a founding prophet.

==Critics==
Most contemporary critics of Islam are either atheists or nominally religious: [[Ibn Warraq]] (author), [[Wafa Sultan]] (psychiatrist), [[Ayaan Hirsi Ali]] (author), [[Hugh Fitzgerald]] (of JihadWatch), [[Oriana Fallaci]] (author), [[Geert Wilders]] (politician), [[Sam Harris]] (author), [[Pamela Geller]] (blogger), [[Bill Maher]] (comedian) and the crowd at the Ayn Rand Institute. The notable exception is [[Robert Spencer]], who while a devout Catholic, criticizes Islam as the socio-political ideology it is. Political critics include [[Winston Churchill]],<ref>[http://thefederalistpapers.org/us/winston-churchills-brutal-takedown-of-islam-means-more-today-than-ever Winston Churchill’s Brutal Takedown of Islam Means More Today than Ever]</ref> [[Herman Cain]], [[Rick Santorum]],<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.news-press.com/article/20130323/NEWS0119/303230016/Santorum-delivers-warning-about-radical-Islam-during-Naples-appearance|title=Santorum delivers warning about radical Islam during Naples appearance|date=March 23, 2013|newspaper=Fort Meyers News Press|author=Lindsay Downey}}</ref> [[David Horowitz]] (author) and [[Pat Robertson]] (preacher). Neither [[Ronald Reagan]] (who helped mujahideen fight atheistic Communists) nor [[George W. Bush]] ("Islam means peace") saw Islam as the problem. Commentators note that the conservative response to fundamental Islam is a far cry from the complete and unequivocal condemnation of Communism during the heyday of the Cold War.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.liberty-and-culture.com/conservatives.html|title=The Conservative Response to the Islamic Threat.|author=Jason Pappas|date=Sept 5, 2004}}</ref> [[Dinesh D’Souza]] argues that Muslims are "God-fearing conservatives",<ref>{{cite book|author=Dinesh D’Souza|title=The Enemy At Home|year=2007|publisher= Doubleday}}</ref> even though they have formed convenient alliances with liberals and several Islamic countries (particularly Iran) have formed alliances with the Communist regimes in [[China]] and [[North Korea]] and the Marxist regime in [[Venezuela]] to oppose the United States and its Western allies.<ref>''Some of the text for this article was taken from "Islam: A Primer", Congressional Research Service Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain'' [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back]</ref>

===Ex-Muslims===
[[Michelle Malkin]] highlights a group of [[Ex-Muslims]] hoping to change the terms of debate about Islam in Europe. Maryam Namazie, the head of the British group said "Too many things in the media and government policies have been geared to pandering to the political Islamic movements and Islamic organizations."<ref>[http://michellemalkin.com/2007/06/20/ex-muslims-stand-up-in-britain/ Ex-Muslims stand up in Britain]</ref> Ex-Muslims include Ibn Warraq, Wafa Sultan, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Mark A. Gabriel, Walid Shoebat, and Mosab Hassan Yousef.

== See also ==
[[Image:Africa islam 87.jpg|thumb|Islam in Africa]]
*[[Arab American]]
*[[Islamic republic]]
*[[Islamophobia]]
*[[Qur'an]]
*[[Jihadism]], an extremist, take on Islam
*[[Ramadan]]
*[[In the midst of a Maelstrom: the Holy Spirit and silence: an essay]] encounter of Israeli Messianic Jew and Egyptian Muslim in Alexandria
*[[List of countries by number of Muslims]]
*[[Undercover Muslim]]
*[[Islamic worldviews]]
*[[Islamophilia]]
*[[Judaism and Islam]]
*[[Atheism vs. Islam]]
*[[Islam and Christianity]]

==Further reading==
* Armour, Rollin. ''Islam, Christianity, and the West: A Troubled History'' (2002) [https://www.amazon.com/Islam-Christianity-West-Troubled-History/dp/1570754071/ref=sr_1_32?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342713&sr=1-32 excerpt and text search]
* Armstrong, Karen. ''Islam: A Short History'' (2002) [https://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-Modern-Library-Chronicles/dp/081296618X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Berkey, Jonathan P. ''The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800'' (2002) [https://www.amazon.com/Formation-Islam-Religion-Society-600-1800/dp/0521588138/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342713&sr=1-27 excerpt and text search]
* Campo, Juan Eduardo. ''Encyclopedia of Islam'' (2009), basic introduction
* Esposito, John J. ''The Oxford History of Islam'' (2000) [https://www.amazon.com/Oxford-History-Islam-John-Esposito/dp/0195107993/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-6 excerpt and text search]
* Glasse, Cyril. ''The New Encyclopedia of Islam'' ( 2nd ed. 2008)
* Lewis, Bernard. ''Islam in History: Ideas, People, and Events in the Middle East'' (2001), by leading conservative historian [https://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-People-Events-Middle/dp/0812695186/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342525&sr=1-15 excerpt and text search]
* Martin, Richard C. et al. ''Encyclopedia of Islam & the Muslim World'' (2003), more advanced
* Newby, Gordon. ''A Concise Encyclopedia of Islam'' (2002) [https://www.amazon.com/Concise-Encyclopedia-Islam-Gordon-Newby/dp/1851682953/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342942&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]
* Robinson, Chase F. ed. ''The New Cambridge History of Islam'' (Volume 1) (2009), summarizes advanced scholarship
* Ruthven, Malise, and Azim Nanji. ''Historical Atlas of Islam'' (2004)
* Schimmel, Annemarie. ''Islam: An Introduction''. (1992)
* Sonn, Tamara and Mary Williamsburg. ''A Brief History of Islam'' (2004) [https://www.amazon.com/Brief-History-Blackwell-Histories-Religion/dp/1405109009/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-12 excerpt and text search]
* Wheatcroft, Andrew. ''Infidels: A History of the Conflict Between Christendom and Islam'' (2005) [https://www.amazon.com/Infidels-History-Conflict-Between-Christendom/dp/0812972392/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342525&sr=1-13 excerpt and text search]

==External links==
*[http://muslim-canada.org/islam_christianity.html Islam and Christianity] - excellent article comparing and contrasting the two.
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/ Qur'an online in English]
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/ Sahih Bukhari (Hadith collection) online in English]
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/ Sahih Muslim (Hadith collection) online in English]
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/abudawud/ Sunan Abu-Dawud (Hadith collection) online in English]
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muwatta/ Malik's Muwatta (Hadith collection) online in English]
* Congressional Research Service, "Islam: A Primer", Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain and the source of part of this article [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back]
*[http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2011/01/islamists-torch-pope-in-effigy-again.html Islamists Torch Pope in Effigy, Again]
*[http://www.tribecatrib.com/news/2010/december/849_kind-strangers.html Muslims Saving Jews During World War II.] By Shane Dixon Kavanaugh.
*[http://differencesbetween.com/islam-and-muslim/ Difference Between Islam and Muslim]
*[http://bertschlossberg.blogspot.com/ A Turkish Delight: they think so in Israel too!]
*[http://bertschlossberg.blogspot.com/ Turkey's Islamic scholar, Rabbi Meir Lau, and Cain speechless before Abel]

==References==
{{reflist|group=note}}

[[Category:Islam]]
[[Category:Political Ideologies]]
[[Category:Perpetrators of Cancel Culture]]

Muhammad

2021-06-29T16:04:50Z

Andrewlee:

{{Cquote|I have been sent with the shortest expressions bearing the widest meanings, and '''I have been made victorious with [[terrorism|terror]]''' (cast in the hearts of the enemy), and while I was sleeping, the keys of the treasures of the world were brought to me and put in my hand.<ref>[http://sunnah.com/bukhari/56/186 Narrated in Abu Huraira, in ''Bukhari'', Volume 4, Book 52, Number 220]</ref>}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name=Muhammad Muhammad Ibn Abdullah Mahomet
|image=Mohammad.jpg
|birth_date=c. April 20, 570<ref>https://www.geni.com/people/Prophet-Muhammad-of-Islam-PBUH/6000000000388939419</ref> c. April 26, 570<ref>https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8215419/muhammed</ref>
|birth_place=[[Mecca]], [[Saudi Arabia]]
|death_date=June 8, 632
|death_place=[[Medina]], [[Saudi Arabia]]
|religion=[[Islam]]
|spouse=13
*Khadija bint Khuwaylid
*Sawda bint Zamʿa
*Aisha bint Abi Bakr
*Hafsa bint Umar
*Zaynab bint Khuzayma
*Hind bint Abi Umayya
*Zaynab bint Jahsh
*Juwayriyya bint al-Harith
*Ramla bint Abi Sufyan
*Rayhana bint Zayd
*Safiyya bint Huyayy
*Maymunah bint al-Harith
*Maria al-Qibtiyya
|children=[[Qasim ibn Muhammad]] [[Zainab bint Muhammad]] [[Ruqayyah bint Muhammad]] [[Umm Kulthum bint Muhammad]] [[Fatimah bint Muhammad]] [[Abdullah ibn Muhammad]] [[Ibrahim ibn Muhammad]]
|alma_mater=
|party=
|office=Leader of the Muslims
|term_start=610
|term_end=632
|preceded=
|succeeded=[[Abu-Bakr]]
|battles=[[Conquest of Mecca]] (629/630) and [https://wikiislam.net/wiki/List_of_expeditions_of_Muhammad the other expeditions]
}}

'''Muhammad''' (also spelled '''Mohammed''' or (archaic) '''Mahomet''') (A.D 570 - 632) was the mythical founder of the ideology of [[Islam]]. A German Islamic scholar has said that Muhammad, "Likely never existed".<ref>https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB122669909279629451</ref> Robert Spencer an intellectual, has written a book titled, "Did Muhammad Exist?: An Inquiry into Islam's Obscure Origins" which gives detailed evidence as to why Muhammad never existed.

Claimed by adherents of Islam as the final and greatest "[[prophet]]"<ref>[http://www.billionbibles.org/sharia/muhammad-false-prophet.html "Prophet" Muhammad?]</ref> of [[Allah]] (which they and their liberal allies incorrectly claim to be the [[God]] of [[Christianity]] and [[Judaism]]<ref>[https://www.conservativenewsandviews.com/2016/12/27/clergy/islam-anti-civilization/ Islam: Anti-Civilization] at Conservative News and Views</ref><ref>[http://www.billionbibles.org/sharia/allah-moon-god.html Allah Moon God]</ref><ref>[https://biblebelievers.org.au/moongod.htm ALLAH – the Moon God (biblebelievers.org.au)]</ref>), Muhammad claimed in Allah's [[revelation]]s, via the angel Jibril or Djibril (whom many unquestioningly assume was the angel [[Gabriel]]), that Judaism and Christianity had grown corrupt, and that Muhammad was to restore the religion God intended. However, common criticisms of Mohammed are: his marriage to a nine-year-old girl was inappropriate; his authorization of the beating of disobedient wives given in the [[Koran]] is unacceptable; and he was a vengeful, man of war (Mohammed said, “If God gives me victory in Quraysh [Muhammad’s own tribe in Mecca] in the future, I will mutilate 30 of their men.”).<ref>See the following articles:
*[http://www.answering-islam.org/Authors/Wood/pedophile.htm Was Muhammad a Pedophile?] by David Wood
*[http://answering-islam.org/Silas/wife-beating.htm WIFE BEATING IN ISLAM]
*[https://billmuehlenberg.com/2008/11/21/jesus-muhammad-and-violence/ Jesus, Muhammad and Violence] by Bill Muehlenberg</ref>

In accordance with the Islamic [[hadith]], its adherents add the phrase of "sallalahu aleyhi wasallam" (or "SAW"), meaning "peace be upon him" (or "PBUH"), after speaking Muhammad's name.

Muhammad's conquests and political philosophy later served as inspiration for Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler, the latter of whom (at least) hoped to use Islam as a template to form a more totalitarian religion than Christianity after World War 2.

== Images ==
Representations of Mohammed are well known from early on, but not very common. While some Muslims hold beliefs that it is against Islam to make images of Mohammed, others have more relaxed attitudes, and among Shia Muslims, such pictures are common, and much liked.<ref>[http://www.hf.uib.no/religion/popularikonografi/default_eng.html Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion (AHKR), University of Bergen.]</ref>

== The Angel Jibril ==
The being Jibril is not absolutely of necessity proven to be the same being as Gabriel. The name is not exactly the same. The Arabic name claimed as being a translation of Gabriel is Jibril, Jibrīl, Jibreel, Jabrilæ or Djibril ('''جبريل , جبرائيل''').

The word "angel" means "messenger".<ref>"messenger"—The Hebrew word is '''מלאך''' ''malak''; the Greek word is ''αγγλος agglos'' "anglos, angel" (singular), plural ''αγγλοι aggloi'' "angloi, angels".</ref> There are "angels of God" (John 1:51) and "angels of Satan" (Revelation 12:7-9), for example, [[Apollyon|Abaddon]] the Destroyer.<ref>Revelation 9:11; Exodus 12:23; Job 1:9-12; 2:4-7; 1 Chronicles 21:1, 15-16, 27.</ref> Compare 2 Corinthians 11:12-15; Ephesians 6:12; Acts 26:18; Colossians 1:13, and [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/2_corinthians/11-14.htm multiple commentaries on 2 Corinthians 11:14 "And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light."]<ref>See the following articles:
*[https://www.answering-islam.org/authors/shamoun/gabriel_partner.html "The Angel Gabriel—Allah's Other Divine Partner", Sam Shamoun - Answering Islam (answering-islam.org)].
*[https://www.answers.com/Q/How_does_Angel_Gabriel_related_to_Islam How does Angel Gabriel related to Islam? - Answers (answers.com)]
*[https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100401085254AA31Lt2 Who was angel Jibril, was he really Angel Gabriel or the Satan in disguised? - Yahoo!Answers (answers.com)]</ref> Some claim that Muhammad encountered a demon in the darkness of the cave Hira, who claimed to be the angel Jibril.<ref>[http://bigfaithministries.com/muhammads-hira-cave-horror-encounter/ Muhammad's Encounter With A Demon In Cave Hira (bigfaithministries.com)]. Citations from the Hadith.</ref><ref>[http://harvardhouse.com/possession_of_muhammad.htm Was Muhammad Possessed? From Muslim reports (harvardhouse.com)] —A comparison of the experience of Saul of Tarsus and the experience of Muhammad.</ref> Others claim that the Prophet was looking at a night sky full of stars, the night of '''''al-Qadr''''' "The Majesty" (Sura 97).<ref>[http://www.aaiil.org/text/hq/trans/ch97.shtml Sura 97—Al-Qadr "The Majesty"—English text.]</ref><ref>[http://islamichouseofisrael.com/ihoi-blog/muhammad-didnt-meet-gabriel-in-a-cave.html Muhammad didn't meet Gabriel in a Cave (islamichouseofisrael.com)]</ref>

Assuming a real spirit messenger, and that It did indeed deliver the oracles of the Qur'an to Muhammad, and is the being responsible for delivering the message, there is no guarantee that It was not lying to Muhammad. There is a huge difference between a [[falsehood]] believed to be truth, and a [[lie]] which is intended to [[Deceit|deceive]]. Compare [[Specious reasoning]].

The various [[Name of God|names of God]] in the Bible include: [[YHWH]], [[Elohim]], El, Shaddai, ‘Elyon, [[Adonai]], Ba’al ("Lord"), and Ẓeba’ot ("Sabbaoth").<ref>Hebrew lacked vowels, and the English translation of “Yhwh” often inserts vowels to become “Yahweh”.</ref> The name ''Al’lah'' is not one of them. And the closest one is not even close: '''אלהי''' ''elohe''.<ref>'''אלהי''' ''elohe''—see [http://biblehub.com/hebrew/410.htm '''''el'''''] and [http://biblehub.com/hebrew/430.htm '''''elohiym''''']).</ref>

Regarding the prophesied signs which came to pass, compare Deuteronomy 13:1-5 and [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/deuteronomy/13-2.htm multiple commentaries on Deuteronomy 13:2].

== Life of Muhammad==
Muhammad is claimed to be descended from [[Abraham]] through his son [[Ishmael]] who, under God's orders, was left in the Arabian desert with only a little food and water. The spot where this occurred is now called [[Mecca]]; today, over 3 million Muslims annually re-enact the frantic running of Ishmael's mother Hagar as she looked for water, in which Ishmael hit the ground with his foot causing water to flow forth. Still flowing today, the spring is known as the Well of [[Zam Zam]].

Muhammad was orphaned at the age of six, as his father Abdullah died before he was born and his mother, Aminah, died soon after. This left him with his grandfather Abdul Muttalib, who died when he was six. He was then raised by his uncle [[Abu Talib]] (son of Abdul Muttalib), a powerful man among the Quraysh tribe who loved Muhammad more than anyone. Muhammad grew up, never taking part part in pagan rituals. He despised the actions, and began a tradition of fasting in the caves of Mecca every annual pilgrimage; the pagans at the time believed in [[Allah]], and the [[Hajj]], from the times of Ishmael, but they later added more gods to Allah. Lexically speaking, Allah comes from the word Ilah in [[Arabic]], with the definite article Al placed in front, making it "Al-Llah", translating as "The One God". This is why [[Islam]] was tolerated from the start by most — Muhammad claimed not to have introduced a new God but instead spoke of the God of Abraham, Jesus, and Moses.

Muhammad was respected in Medina as he would frequently solve disputes. He was nicknamed Al-Amin, or The Truthful One, and was well loved by all. His followers claim he was never known to lie, cheat, or steal, though those were all common practices by the pagans of his time and continues to be so in Islam to the present day.<ref>[http://www.billionbibles.org/sharia/taqiyya.html Taqiyya]</ref> Everyone, including his enemies like [[Abu Jahl]], claimed his lineage to Ishmael and Abraham.

When he was about 40 years old, Muhammad's supposed early revelations from the Angel Jibril spoke of a need to return to the [[monotheism]] of [[Abraham]]; however, Muhammad was unsure of himself upon encountering what seemed to him to be the Angel [[Gabriel]] and rushed to his house, terrified. He told his wife [[Khadija]] of the events, and she assured him that God wouldn't let this happen to such a humble man. Khadija later went on to see her uncle, a Christian scholar who, after reviewing his religious texts (note that these texts are not the texts of today, as the Christians of Mecca and the Arabs were not Pauline or Roman Christians), claimed Muhammad was the next prophet. This as well as the Jews in Medina, who were also expecting a new prophet, albeit a prophet from the Jewish tribe; Muhammad's claimed prophethood was an unpleasant surprise to many of them and hence they rejected him. In this way Muhammad saw himself at an early age as reviving an ancient faith, a perceived correction to [[Christianity]] and [[Judaism]], and restoring his people to what he saw as their rightful position as the true founders and heirs of [[monotheism]]. In these revelations, submission to the will of their claimed god — [[Allah]] — was critical. Muhammad's fledgling religion continued to develop throughout his life, through periodic revelations often relating directly to events currently facing his new faith. At one point, he admitted to being possessed by the devil.<ref>http://crossmuslims.blogspot.com/2011/10/muhammad-and-satan_24.html —link contains a blogger warning</ref>

The faith caught on slowly, winning only a few converts in Mecca (the first being his wife, Khadija). In 622 A.D, under increased pressure and ostracism from elders in Mecca, Muhammad began the [[hijra]], an organized exodus of his followers from Mecca to the city of [[Medina]]. [[Muslims]] date the formation of their ideology to the ''hijra'' itself, even beginning their dating system at this point.

Muhammad was first introduced to the people of [[Medina]]; when frequent wars broke out between Jewish tribes and Arab tribes, Muhammad was sent for as a mediator between the two. Most Jews spoke highly of Muhammad, accepting him as the next Prophet, although some disliked that he was not of the descent of Moses or Bani Israel. When Muhammad came to Medina, most problems were resolved, and it was hailed as a success. One important battle which shed light on Muslim-Jewish tensions was [[The Battle of the Trench]]: Although there was a pact called [[The Constitution of Medina]], one that gave all religions freedom and protective status under the Muslims, from Muslims or invaders, one Jewish tribe ([[Bani Qurayza]]) did not help defend the city. However, they allowed in Huyayy ibn Akhtab, a man exiled by Muhammad because of a dispute between Bani Qurayza and Bani Nadir, who encouraged Bani Qurayza to attack the Muslims and help the invaders so Muhammad would be defeated once and for all. Their plot was found out, though, and the pact was broken. This incident led to the execution of approximately 700 Jewish men<ref>Guillaume, p. 461-464</ref> from the tribe.

The execution was described as follows by Ibn Ishaq:
<blockquote>
Then they surrendered, and the apostle confined them in Medina in the quarter of d. al-Harith, a woman of B. al-Najjar. Then the apostle went out to the market of Medina (which is still its market today) and dug trenches in it. Then he sent for them and struck off their heads in those trenches as they were brought out to him in batches. Among them was the enemy of Allah Huyayy b. Akhtab and Ka`b b. Asad their chief. There were 600 or 700 in all, though some put the figure as high as 800 or 900. As they were being taken out in batches to the apostle they asked Ka`b what he thought would be done with them. He replied, 'Will you never understand? Don't you see that the summoner never stops and those who are taken away do not return? By Allah it is death!' This went on until the apostle made an end of them. Huyayy was brought out wearing a flowered robe in which he had made holes about the size of the finger-tips in every part so that it should not be taken from him as spoil, with his hands bound to his neck by a rope. When he saw the apostle he said, 'By God, I do not blame myself for opposing you, but he who forsakes God will be forsaken.' Then he went to the men and said, 'God's command is right. A book and a decree, and massacre have been written against the Sons of Israel.' Then he sat down and his head was struck off.<ref>Guillaume, p. 461-464</ref>
</blockquote>

There were eight men in the desert who were sick, so he told them that if they want their help, convert. So after he prescribed them camel milk and camel urine, they became apostates and got up next day in the early morning to kill the shepherd and escape with the camels. Muhammad sent an armed party to 20 men to get them back. So Muhammad got his sword, cut off their hands and feet then gouged their eyes and left them in the desert to die.<ref>[http://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/cruelty.htm Muhammad's Excessive Cruelty, Sam Shamoun]</ref>

In 629 A.D. Muhammad and his followers attacked Khaybar, a Jewish stronghold and slaughtered almost everyone in the tribe which included men, women and children. Afterwards, a Jewish woman invites Muhammad and his companions for dinner and they gladly accept in a gullible fashion, even though they just slaughtered her entire family. She then proceeded to serve them lamb. Once they started chowing down, one of Muhammad's companions, who had consumed some of the lamb, died due to it being poisoned in which point Muhammad spat his piece of lamb out. By then it was too late, since Muhammad would go on to suffer in agonizing pain where his companions would have to carry him around until he died a few years later being beside Aisha, his child bride. The Jewish woman said that the poison was a test of Muhammad's prophet hood in which he did not pass, proving that he was a false prophet. She was killed by Muhammad's followers soon after.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iU5CAzMGVA Remember Khaybar, David Wood]</ref>

There was a 90 year old tribal chief that criticized him, so he asked his henchmen to take for him her daughter and grandson and kill the men in her family. They grabbed her to place her between two camels facing each other back to back, and tied her legs with ropes to both camels and beat them. It can be found in the 16 minute YouTube film by a Coptic Christian that [[Barack Obama]] and [[Hillary Clinton]] accused of provoking the September 11, 2012 [[Benghazi Attack]].<ref>http://crossmuslims.blogspot.com/2012/10/innocence-of-muslims-dissected.html —link contains a blogger warning</ref>

== After Muhammad's death ==
Muhammad's death at an early age caused the splintering of his ideology into new subdivisions, over the question of succession. The groups called themselves the [[Sunnis]] and the [[Shiite|Shi'as]]. Many attribute this split to the high degree to which authority was centered in the powerful character of Muhammad himself: without his powerful personality, the movement could not survive intact.,<ref>[[Bernard Lewis]], ''What Went Wrong''</ref> however this depiction is not accurate in some lights. The [[Shi'as]] came into the picture much later than the death of Muhammad, and were first a nuisance group thought to be started by a Jew by the name of [[Abdullah ibn Saba]] who was burned at the stake by [[Abu Bakr]] for proclaiming [[Ali]] was God. Note that Ali disagreed with the punishment, because fire is a punishment only for Allah.

The failure or splintering of movements, such as personality cults, built around a charismatic leader is a recurring sociological problem, often studied by psychologists, and referred to as the problem of the [[routinization of charisma]].<ref>Maximillian Weber, ''Theory of Social and Economic Organization,'' in the chapter "The Nature of Charismatic Authority and its Routinization," see also Len Oakes, "Prophetic Charisma: The Psychology of Revolutionary Religious Personalities"</ref>

== Obama's opinion about presenting Muhammad in a non-favorable light ==
On September 25, 2012, in his address to [[United Nations General Assembly]], [[Barack Hussein Obama]] said that "'''The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam'''."<ref>FOX News: [https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/09/25/transcript-obama-address-to-un-general-assembly/ Transcript: Obama address to U.N. General Assembly] (September 25, 2012)</ref> This outrageous comment, yet another evidence that Barack Hussein Obama is almost certainly [[Obama's Religion|of Islamic heritage]], was predictably ignored by the [[liberal media]], but rightly highlighted by Conservative commentators.<ref>FOX News: [https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/09/26/media-ignore-obama-attack-on-those-who-slander-prophet-islam/ Media ignore Obama attack on ‘those who slander the Prophet of Islam’] (September 26, 2012)</ref> Obama didnt mention Muhammad racism against black people, who call Ethiopians "Raisin head",<ref>http://www.raceandhistory.com/cgi-bin/forum/webbbs_config.pl?md=read;id=554</ref> and portraying Satan as Black man.<ref>http://www.maxshimbaministries.com/2013/07/satan-looks-like-nabtal-sturdy-black.html</ref> without mention that he was major black slaves owner.<ref>[https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/07/will-mosques-next-muhammed-owned-several-slaves-four-slaves-black-involved-slave-trade/ Muhammed Owned Several Slaves, Four of his Slaves Were Black and He Was Involved in Slave Trade]</ref>

==See also==
*[[Slave ownership by Muhammad]]
*[[Islam]]
*[[Taqiyya]]/[[Taquiyyeh]]
*[[Muhammad cartoons controversy]]
*[[Abbas]]
*[[Umm Qirfa]]

== References ==
<references/>

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180123164729/http://wikiislam.net/wiki/List_of_Killings_Ordered_or_Supported_by_Muhammad List of Killings Ordered or Supported by Muhammad]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20181011062907/http://www.hirhome.com/islam/art.htm Muhammad's massacre of the Jewish tribe Banu Qurayzah]
* [http://youtu.be/FXfZWJTZsrw The Killing of Umm Qirfa by Muhammad]
* [https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/muhammad/qurayza.aspx The Myth: Muhammad Lived at Peace with the Jews Part 3: The Banu Qurayza (thereligonofpeace.com)]
* [https://www.raymondibrahim.com/2012/05/01/islamic-death-sex-in-context/ "Islamic ‘Death-Sex’ in Context" by Raymond Ibrahim - Published in ''FrontPage Magazine'']
* [http://biblicalmissiology.org/2017/04/10/is-allah-the-god-of-the-bible/ Is Allah the God of the Bible?, by Mike Tisdell (biblicalmissiology.org)] —''The writer says they cannot be the same''.
* [https://carm.org/god-islam-christianity-same Is Allah, the God of Islam, the same as the Yahweh the God of the Bible?, by Matt Slick - CARM Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry (carm.org)] —''Matt Slick points out what he calls "a gross error" in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 841, “ 'The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these '''profess''' to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day.' "''. (''boldface emphasis added'')
*[http://scborromeo.org/ccc/p123a9p3.htm#839 Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 839-870 (scborromeo.org)] —''access to CCC paragraph 841 in full context''. (See [[Quoting out of context]].)

[[Category:Islam]]
[[Category:Muslims]]
[[Category:Cult Leaders]]
[[Category:Terrorists]]
[[Category:Pedophiles]]
[[Category:Mass Murderers]]
[[Category:Anti-Christianity]]
[[Category:Anti-Judaism]]
[[Category:Racists]]
[[Category:Sexual Immorality]]
[[Category:Slavery]]

Islam

2021-06-29T15:43:04Z

Andrewlee:

[[Image:Quran.jpg|thumb|right|Pages from the [[Koran]], the foundational text of the Islamic ideology, dictated by a single 7th-century author who claimed to have been inspired by a supernatural being whom Muslims call 'Allah'. If the Constitution is the highest law of the United States, then the Koran is the highest law of Islam.]]

[[Image:Mohammad.jpg|thumb|right|[[Muhammad]], the creator of Islam. Pictorial representations of Muhammad is considered making a graven image of a false god in Islam.]]
'''Islam''' or '''Mohammedanism''' is a major world [[Political|socio-political]] system<ref>[http://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm/frm/100100/sec_id/100100 Why Islam is Not a Religion], by Rebecca Bynum (Nov. 2011) Speech delivered October 18th to ACT! for America Chapter in Memphis Tennessee</ref> based on the teachings of [[Muhammad]] (sometimes Mohammed), a seventh-century [[Arab]]. Muhammad claimed descent from [[Ishmael]], the son of [[Abraham]]. Muhammad claimed to have received revelations from Allah, the entity which adherents of Islam claim to resemble the [[God]] of [[Judaism]] and [[Christianity]], via the archangel Gabriel, which were written in the [[Koran]] – thus forming the core teachings of Islam.

The Koran's singular authorship offers no corroborating evidence, as the four Gospels do for example, of testimony of independent eyewitness accounts to its claim of divine inspiration as the Mosaic Law requires,<ref>Dueteronomy 19:15 ''By the testimony of two is a matter established''. The testimony of one - Mohammad - is insufficient to convict the human race, or infidels, of sin, ''per the Law of Moses'' or the Koran itself which claims descent.</ref> from which the Koran's author borrowed selectively.

==Overview==
[[File:World Muslim Population Pew Forum.png|thumb|The Muslim population of the world map according to the Pew Forum 2009 report.]]
The word "Islam"<ref>Arabic الإسلام‎‎, specifically referring to submission to Allah</ref> means "submission" or "surrender" in [[Arabic language|Arabic]]. Islam, as originally designed in the Koran, presents itself as an "Abrahamic faith" and has [[Moses]] in it,<ref>Brannon Wheeler. Moses in the Koran and Islamic Exegesis. Routledge, 2002.</ref> as well as [[Jesus]] as a prophet in Islam,<ref>Muhammad Ata ur-Rahim, Ahmad Thomson. ''Jesus: Prophet of Islam''. TTQ, INC., 2003.</ref> and it specifically denies Jesus's divine nature.

<blockquote>
The world’s Islamic population is expected to increase by about 35% in the next 20 years, rising from 1.6 billion in 2010 to 2.2 billion by 2030, according to new population projections by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life. In the United States, for example, the population projections show the number of Muslims more than doubling over the next two decades, rising from 2.6 million in 2010 to 6.2 million in 2030.<ref>[http://www.pewforum.org/2011/01/27/the-future-of-the-global-muslim-population/ The Future of the Global Muslim Population.]</ref>
</blockquote>

Islam has been criticized for some time because of its demanding of strict submissiveness (especially of women), its suppression and violations of human rights (also including those of women), and its predisposition to being violent toward those of true religious faiths and attacking those faiths deemed a threat to Islam. There have been over 23,000 terrorist attacks committed by adherents of Islam since [[September 11, 2001 attacks|the Islamic terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001]].<ref>http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/</ref> A more recent strain of Islam has combined European totalitarianism and a virulent [[anti-Semitism]]. This version is called [[Jihadism#Lesser jihad|lesser jihad]], [[Islamism]], radical Islam, or militant Islam. Without the historic institution of the Caliph, this form degenerates into stateless terrorist activity that strikes at the heart of civilized man. Some who identify as Muslim have denounced the violent jihadism while others remain silent. Some Muslims and non-Muslims theorize that mainstream Islam has become corrupted over the years that there needs to be an [[Islamic Reformation]] similar to that of the [[Protestant Reformation]].<ref>Michaelle Browers, Charles Kurzman. An Islamic Reformation? Lexington Books, 2004.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.danielpipes.org/954/distinguishing-between-islam-and-islamism|title=Distinguishing between Islam and Islamism|author=Daniel Pipes|date=June 30, 1998}}</ref> The Reformation movements were costly and bloody for well over a century.
[[Image:Mecca.jpg|thumb|left|[[Mecca]], one of the holy cities of Islam.]]
There are small groups of largely Westernized Muslims who publicly reject Islamism. Such moderate Muslim conservatives are in the [[Republican Party]], known as the [[Muslim Republicans]].<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> One of America's Founding Fathers, [[Thomas Jefferson]], who was a religious [[libertarian]], declared: "''freedom for the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and the Mohammedan, the Hindu and infidel of every denomination''."<ref>John A. Garraty, Story of America Beginnings to 1877, (1992) Holt, Rinehart and Winston, pg 706.</ref>

Issues with Islam arose in the 2012 U.S. presidential campaign. Republican presidential candidate [[Mitt Romney]] said that "''Radical, violent Islamists pose a threat to Americans and others around the world.''" and that "''they take a very different view of Islam than the Muslims I know.''" Romney said that when he lived in Detroit he knew Muslims, as Detroit has a large Muslim population, and says "''They are peace-loving and America-loving individuals. I believe that very sincerely. I believe people of the Islamic faith do not have to subscribe to the idea of radical, violent jihadism.''<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> Former Republican presidential nominee candidate [[Ron Paul]], a libertarian conservative, says that America should not fear Islam and said that America should just embrace people of all faiths.<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> American conservative author Margaret Hoover believes that the Republican Party needs to recognize Muslim Republicans, noting an example of Muslim Republican youth Suhail Khan who she describes as "''one of thousands of Muslim Americans who work to promote Christian-Muslim understanding''".<ref>Margaret Hoover, ''American Individualism: How a New Generation of Conservatives Can Save the Republican Party'', Random House Digital, Inc., 2011, pg 202.</ref> Candidates for the Republican nomination like [[Newt Gingrich]] and [[Rick Santorum]] strongly criticized Islamic extremism.<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref>

[[Multiculturalism|Multiculturalists]] ignore or minimize violence in the history of Islam and exaggerate Christian atrocities to advance a [[moral equivalence]]. Proponents of this view often cite the [[Crusades|Great Crusades]]--an unsuccessful attempt by Western Christians to retake parts of the [[Byzantine Empire]] that had been conquered by Islamic armies--and various religious wars which were later fought in Europe between branches of Christianity. However, they brand critics of Islam "racists" (even though Islam is not a "race") and "[[Islamophobia|Islamophobes]]" (a smear term invented for the purpose of censoring and silencing legitimate criticism of Islam) for exposing today's threats by [[jihadism|jihadists]].<ref>http://www.bcbsr.com/topics/charity.html</ref>

A follower of Islam is called a "[[Muslim]]" (rarely "Moslem"), a term which means "one who submits (to Allah)." The older terms "Mohammedan" and "Muhammedan" ("follower of Muhammad"), have fallen out of use.<ref>Additional archaic terms for Muslims include "Hagarene", "Musselman", and "Saracen." Saracen as a term for Muslims was limited to the Crusades era, although it makes frequent re-appearances in pre-modern polemics. Hagarene was a more common term in pre-modern works, as it denotes the Biblical connection of Hagar, the mother of Ishmael, who is claimed to be a patriarch of Islam. Additional names for Muslims in pre-modern and Medieval works are generally derived from misspellings.</ref>

Because of its history of terrorism, mass murder and suicide attacks, Islam, and those who adhere to it, are sometimes generally perceived as having no regard toward human life.<ref>[https://www.conservativenewsandviews.com/2017/07/09/human/permanent-rage-islam/ The Permanent Rage of Islam] at Conservative News and Views</ref>

==Theology==
[[File:Kaaba.jpg|thumb|Masjid al-Haram, the holiest site in Islam.]]

There are no clergy, but there are religious teachers, or [[Imam]]s, who have their followings. All Muslims are supposed to follow the teachings of Muhammad, whom they believe to be Allah's<ref>Arabic الله</ref> last and greatest [[prophet]] (although Jesus, in Matthew 7:15-20, warned "Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves. You will recognize them by their fruit. Grapes are not gathered from thorns or figs from thistles, are they? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree is not able to bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree to bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will recognize them by their fruit", which serves to explicitly describe Muhammad and such like him). The teachings of Muhammad are transmitted through the [[Koran]], the Hadith, and the Sunnah. The Sunnah is a general term for "the life and doings of the Prophet", which all Muslims are called on to replicate. Islam claims that the Archangel [[Gabriel]] appeared to Muhammad in a cave reciting verbatim a revelation from Allah. The first word that Gabriel says to Muhammad is "Iqra" or "Recite/Proclaim", which is found in the 96th Sura of the Koran.

Muslims believe that Allah revealed the Koran to Muhammad. The key miracle of Islam comes from the historical condition of the illiterate and uneducated Muhammad, as the Koran is composed in an erudite and complex form of Arabic prose and poetry.<ref>Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created- Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,- He Who taught (the use of) the pen,- Taught man that which he knew not.(Surah 96:1-5)</ref> The Koran was not written down in a systematic fashion until a decade after Muhammad died, preferable transmission being through oral recitation. The Koran is claimed by Muslims to be the pure and holy word of Allah, uncreated and eternal. In Islamic belief, the term uncreated is very important, as it implies that there is no author for the Koran, only the delivering of the word to Muhammad who delivered it to the Sahab and the Salaf (The Companions and the Pure), who delivered it to the scribe delegated to record it in the reign of the Caliph Uthman bin Affan.

Islam teaches fundamental contradictions about the nature of Allah. Allah is said to be all-powerful, yet impotent to have a son (Surah 6:100-101). The idea of Allah having offspring is mocked,<ref>"Limitless is He is His glory, and sublimely exalted above anything that men may devise by way of definition: the Originator of the heavens and the earth! How could it be that He should have a child without there ever having been a mate for Him - since it is He who has created everything, and He alone knows everything?" - Surah 6:100-101.</ref> and this limitation of his power differentiates Allah from the Christian God. Allah is a very angry god who loves only those who swear allegiance to him, and hates non-believers. To serve Allah is to hate Allah's enemies with the same divine hatred that Allah hates non-believers (Surah 5:54). This stands in direct contrast to John 3:16.

In Islamic theology, Allah, the alleged maker of heaven and earth (Surah 6:100), is impotent to have a son (Surah 6:101). Human beings, with the ability to reproduce themselves, possess powers Allah is incapable of.

===Divisions within Islam===
Uthman was assassinated in 656 A.D. by soldiers who then installed Ali ibn Abu Talib, Muhammad's son-in-law, as [[Caliph]]. Ali's followers believed Muhammad had chosen Ali to be Muhammad's heir, and had disagreed with the selections of Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman as Caliphs. Ali's claim to the position was challenged by Muawiyah, a kinsman of the murdered Uthman. Five years later, Ali was assassinated by Kharjites, dissidents who broke away from the main body of Islam because they rejected Ali's accepting arbitration to resolve his leadership dispute with Muawiyah. Ali's supporters, or the Shiah al-Ali (or Shiat Ali, partisans of Ali) believed that Ali was the true Caliph and was, in part, divinely inspired. Ali's sons, Hassan and Husayn followed as [[Shia]] Caliphs, Hassan dying in 669 or 670 A.D., possibly by poisoning, and Husayn slain by soldiers of his rival, the [[Sunni]] Caliph Yazid, in 680 A.D.

The Shia Islamic community has divided further as followers coalesced around several of Ali's descendants or successors, called [[Imam]]s. The "twelvers," predominant in Iran, believe the twelfth Imam is in hiding and will reveal himself just before judgment day. Ismailis rejected the seventh Imam and practice a spirituality that seeks hidden meaning in scripture. Ismailis ruled much of [[North Africa]] as the [[Fatimid Dynasty]] of [[Egypt]] in the tenth through the twelfth centuries, and today are found primarily in [[Pakistan]], [[Afghanistan]], and [[India]]. The Sunni majority reject the premise that men can be divine, including Muhammad, Ali, or Jesus, and did not accept any of the Imams who followed Ali. Sunnis remain more committed to traditions and less inclined to accept Shia mysticism. Today, about 15% of the world's Muslims are Shia and 85% are orthodox Sunni.

There are other factions within Islam. Sufis, a name possibly derived from the wool garments they wear, developed around mystical practices and trance-induced revelations. Sufis are found today in [[Turkey]], [[Syria]], and parts of [[Africa]]. One of the most famous modern followers of Sufism was American professional boxer [[Muhammad Ali]] in his later years. Other movements have taken reform tracks, such as the Unitarians of [[Saudi Arabia]], also called [[Wahhabi]]s after their 18th-century reformist founder Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. The conservative Wahhabis are found today in Saudi Arabia and [[Qatar]]. Today the Wahhabi line has a tendency to produce extremists, such as [[Osama Bin Laden]]. Some critics would argue that the [[Taliban]] of Afghanistan took conservative reform to an extreme. Other sects or break-away groups include, among others, the Alawis found in Syria and Turkey, the [[Druze]] in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Israel, the Ibadhis (Kharjites) in Oman and Africa, the Ahmadiya of Pakistan, and the Zaydis of Yemen.

==Origins==
Like Christianity and Judaism, Islam originated in the Middle East. Islam claims to trace its roots back to Abraham through his son Ishmael. Muslims do not believe that Muhammad was the founder of Islam, rather they claim that he restored the original faith of Abraham and the prophets that followed as recorded in the lost books of the Tawrat and Injil.

Based upon this belief, the [[Bible]], both the [[Old Testament|Old]] and [[New Testament]]s, is claimed by adherents of Islam to have become corrupted through the [[Bible translations|translations and misinterpretations]] accumulated over several millennia. The criticism of the [[Torah]] centers around the reconstruction of the existing Biblical text required after the "[[Babylon]]ian captivity". The criticism of the New Testament centers in the many disputed gnostic texts which contradict the orthodox biblical canon. Interestingly, Islamic jurisprudence accepts that the Injil was complete and whole up until the revelation of Muhammad. Therefore, there is some inconsistency in the claims made against the New Testament. For more information, see [[The Bible versus the Qur'an|The Bible versus the Koran]].

Muhammad spent many years attempting to unite disparate polytheistic Arab tribes in the power vacuum created by the fall of the [[Roman Empire]] through recitations of his epic poem, which borrowed heavily from Hebrew scriptures and dietary laws, meeting with only limited success. He was eventually driven out of Mecca by the powers that be for challenging state authority, an event known as the ''Hijra'' or "Flight from Mecca" which marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar.

Eventually Muhammad was summoned back to Mecca by a faction of sympathizers, mainly tribal family members, as political chaos engulfed the city. Muhammad conquered the city after a prolonged siege with attacks on the civilian population and hundreds of beheadings to any who refused to accept his claims to a divine mission of carrying out the will of Allah. The doctrine of abrogation (''nashk'') in Islamic scholarship teaches that the later instructions of Mohammad supersede any earlier contradictory verses in the Koran.<ref>http://www.quranicstudies.com/books/abrogation-in-the-quran-and-islamic-law/</ref> Hence was born political Islam,<ref>https://www.politicalislam.com/abrogation-and-the-koran/</ref> a doctrine of war, conquest, and vengeance, over any earlier utterances which teach Islam a religion of peace. Peace only exists in Islam insofar as all Islam's enemies are subjugated.

==Terminology==
Additional archaic terms for Muslims include, but are not limited to, "Hagarene" and "Saracen." The term Hagarene was more common in post-crusade Europe as it made specific reference to the Biblical mother of Ishmael. In Islam, Ishmael plays an analogous theological role to Isaac. Muslims do not use it today to avoid confusing worship of [[Muhammad]] with worship of [[Allah]].<ref>Schimmel, (1992)</ref>

==Islamic guidance==
During his lifetime, Muhammad's companions learned and later transcribed the verses (surrahs) of the Koran as Muhammad spoke them. In Islam, the teachings of Mohammed were believed to be direct divine revelation from Allah.

The third Caliph, Uthman, collected and codified the various versions of the surrahs into one written Koran that became the standard Arabic text used by the world's Muslims today. The Koran is longer than the Bible and written in general order of longest chapters to shortest rather than in any order of when they were spoken, sometimes making the work appear to be confusing. In all there are 114 chapters. Most of the later recorded sayings of Mohammed, which were also more warlike, actually appear earlier in the text. Present-day Muslims look first to the Koran as a guide to life, then to the [[Sunnah]], or the way of the Prophet (his life as an example for others) as recorded by his early companions, and then to the [[Hadith]], a collection of the Prophet's sayings, comments, advice, and descriptions.

Frequently, Muslims disagreed over how to interpret certain passages in the Qur'an, the Sunnah, or the Hadith in their search for the ideal life and perfect path to heaven. From these interpretations Sunni Muslims developed four schools of law, or interpretations of law, named after their founders or early leaders: the Hanbali, considered the most strict school and predominant today in Saudi Arabia; Shafi, the school of widest acceptance, found in Egypt, parts of Palestine-Syria, south Arabia, and the Far East; Maliki, prevalent in North Africa, Sudan, and Nigeria; and Hanafi, considered the most moderate school, predominant in Ottoman Turkey and today found primarily on the Levant and Indian subcontinent. Frequently, Islamic countries have two separate legal systems, one for civil, criminal, or commercial law, and a second, and separate, system for religious law. Religious courts and their judges (qadis) might handle issues dealing with marriage, divorce, child custody, inheritance, religious education, charitable or religious property (Waqf), or family matters. Among Middle Eastern countries, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen have Shariah courts serving alongside their secular courts or have adopted [[Sharia]]h (Islamic law) as the basis of their legal systems.

===Five pillars of Islam===
*'''[[Shahadah]] (Profession of Faith)''' -The Shahadah is the Muslim profession of faith. 'ašhadu 'al-lā ilāha illā-llāhu wa 'ašhadu 'anna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh, a loose English translation reads "''There is none worthy of worship except Allah, and [[Muhammad]] is the messenger of Allah''" This testament can be seen as the foundation of all of the other tenets of Islam and swears off the divinity of Christ. For the Christian believer, the Shahada is essentially an [[oath]] renouncing the divinity of [[Christ]], "But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father who is in heaven." (Matt 10:33).

*'''[[Salat]] (Ritual Prayer)''' -All Muslims are required to pray to Allah five times each day while facing [[Mecca]]. Praying six times a day is considered willful disobedience to Allah, ''per shariah law'', an act punishable by death.<ref>The example is used by Prof. Quinten Wiktorowitz of an extremist considered by Muslim "moderates" as one who loves Allah so much he defies Allah's instructions. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10576100500497004</ref><ref>[https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://archives.cerium.ca/IMG/pdf/WIKTOROWICZ_2006_Anatomy_of_the_Salafi_Movement.pdf&ved=0ahUKEwiXlY7EttfTAhVF02MKHRExBFwQFggcMAA&usg=AFQjCNH4tKyamYaRwVVY8j23A0VjTOOWJg&sig2=zIzwl9aecd3zpGkLsveV0g "Despite the success of the Prophet’s mission and the growth of Islam, Salafis believe human desires continue to grip Muslims and challenge the purity of the message. In this view, there is an eternal temptation to manipulate and distort the religion through innovation. Although nefarious interests often drive deviancy, it can also result from good intentions. Muslims who pray more than the explicitly proscribed five times a day, for example, are likely motivated by love for God. They are, however, still engaged in innovation because they are inventing new practices to fulfill a human desire." p.4 pdf]</ref>

*'''Zakat (Charity)''' Zakat is often described as charitable giving. Able Muslims must donate to the poor based on the wealth one has accumulated. In current usage it is interpreted as 2.5% of [[net worth]] held for a full lunar year. However, funding violent jihad by wealthy Muslims has been ruled a form of ''zakat'' by Islamic scholars, a requirement to fulfill their Islamic duty under the five pillars. There exists the poor, unemployed, and unemployable jihadis, and the ignorant (''jahiliyya'') infidel masses in need if Islamic enlightening, hence funding terrorism is considered charitable work.

*'''Sawm (Fasting)''' All able-bodied Muslims (children, pregnant women, the elderly, and the ill are exempt) must not eat during the daylight hours of the entire month of [[Ramadan]]. According to Muslims, this purifies the body and soul. Although Muslims and their mainstream media surrogates refer to it as a "fast," this in no way aligns with traditional Christian and Judaic concepts of fasting, and indeed violates the basic concept. Torturing oneself in an outward display of [[piety]] is deemed hypocritcal by the [[monotheist]]ic traditions of Christianity and Judaism. Some Islamic sects allow military, police and emergency services personnel to receive an exemption from fasting from an imam, on the grounds that their work supports the community or national good.

*'''Hajj (Pilgrimage)''' All able-bodied Muslims must make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lives. Many without funds for a round trip never made it back, having been sold off in the slave auction market place at [[Taif]].<ref>https://youtu.be/emRVkisdbhc</ref>

===Sharia===
[[Image:StarCresent.png|thumb|right|220px|The Star and Crescent is a symbol of Islam. It is featured in the national flag of [[Algeria]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Malaysia]], [[Tunisia]], [[Uzbekistan]], [[Mauritania]], [[Pakistan]], and [[Turkey]], amongst others]]
[[Sharia]] is the body of Islamic law. The term means "way" or "path"; it is the legal framework within which public and some private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Islamic principles of jurisprudence. It is not actually part of the canonical Koran; that is to say, it is not believed to be the direct word of Allah by Muslims, but rather the interpretation of it.

Sharia deals with many aspects of day-to-day life, including politics, economics, banking, business law, contract law, sexuality, marriage, divorce, and social issues. Most Islamic scholars regard Sharia as the body of precedent and legal theory established during the early stages of the Islamic Empire, though a few scholars also believe contemporary legal cases can and should shape the law, though such thinkers may be subject to ridicule and even threats from Islamists and their liberal allies.

Sharia law proscribes often brutal punishments for acts, that, in the western world, are relatively minor. For example, under sharia law, turning away from Islam is punishable by death,<ref>[http://www.ntpi.org/html/whyoppose.html]</ref> while women found guilty of adultery is punishable by stoning to death, which often includes many rape victims, as Sharia courts often regard a rape victim as guilty of adultery unless she can provide four witnesses to the act of rape.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6148590.stm</ref> In cases involving the death penalty of corporal punishment, methods of carrying out the punishment are often barbaric, and include public beheading, chopping off of the hand, and flogging.<ref>http://saudiwoman.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/punishment-in-saudi-arabia/</ref> Many Islamic groups have been attempting to have Shariah courts set up in European countries, initially to rule over civil cases between Muslims in Europe.<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,422661,00.html</ref>

The need by Islam's adherents to add to and retain followers in its ideology through Sharia, deceit, force and intimidation, particularly through threats of death against those who leave Islam or who levy legitimate criticism against it for its barbaric ways and history, would indicate that overall, Islam is a weak ideology that would not withstand criticism or exposure of the truth of its ways and history. To facilitate retaining its membership and to keep the truth about Islam under wraps, its adherents have formed convenient alliances with sympathetic liberals in politics, academia, the courts, the mainstream media and Hollywood to deceive the public about Islam and what it really is, as well as to censor and silence critics of Islam through ridicule, false accusations of "racism", "hate speech" and "Islamophobia" and the illegal use of the legal system to punish critics.<ref>[http://nationalpost.com/news/weaponization-of-free-speech-prompts-talk-of-a-new-hate-law?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NP_Top_Stories+%28National+Post+-+Top+Stories%29 "Weaponization" of free speech prompts talk of a new hate law] at the ''National Post''</ref>

===Ulemah ===
Sunni Islam does not have a priesthood or clerical hierarchy to conduct religious services or interpret scripture, but it does have prayer leaders, called Imams, and religious scholars, called Ulemah,<ref>"Umma and ulemah" would be roughly equivalent to "laity and clergy".</ref> who often are educated men familiar with the Koran and able to offer commentaries on Koranic verses. Sunni Muslims also respect the teachings and interpretations of scholars, judges, and academics who may interpret laws, write treatises on Sharia (religious law) or Hadith, and issue Fatwas, religious rulings or declarations intended to enlighten or guide Muslims. These religious scholars issue legal rulings on various questions in contemporary life, such as the use of toilet paper which Islamic law previously forbade,<ref>https://nypost.com/2015/04/08/muslims-can-now-use-toilet-paper-turkeys-top-religious-authority/</ref> transgenderism,<ref>https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-transgender/pakistani-clerics-declare-transgender-marriages-legal-under-islamic-law-idUSKCN0ZD1IZ</ref> conjugal relations in marriage during the menstrual cycle<ref>http://aliftaa.jo/QuestionEn.aspx?QuestionId=2667#.YGOXVtKSncs</ref> or use of bug zappers.<ref>https://www.islamweb.net/en/fatwa/198619/killing-insects-with-electric-insect-killer</ref>

Shia Islam has a hierarchy that resembles a priesthood. Mullahs are prayer leaders, but usually do not interpret religious law. Mujtahids are religious scholars who may interpret law or passages from the Koran or Hadith. The lower order of Mujtahids are called Hojjatolislam. Ayat Allah (literally sign of Allah, also Ayatollah) is a higher order of Mujtahid who may issue Fatwas, or religious edicts, in addition to leading Islamic schools, interpreting religious law and the Koran, and offering sermons or discourses on proper Islamic behavior.

== Converts to Islam ==
People who turn to Islam from legitimate religions or from nontheism commit ideologically motivated crimes such as [[jihadism|jihadist]] [[terrorism]], [[hate speech]], [[discrimination]], and [[fraud]]: [http://web.archive.org/web/20190327113206/https://wikiislam.net/wiki/Converts_to_Islam A list of converts to Islam]. As has been witnessed many times, people who turn to Islam become radicalized and divide the world into two groups: Muslims ("people who surrender to Allah") and non-Muslims (''kafir''s, i.e. people who think differently).

==Today==
[[File:2012 Sydney protest.jpg|thumb|Some non-Muslims feel threatened by the unforgiving nature of the ideology of Islam.]]
Islam is the world's largest socio-political ideology, with over 1.6 billion followers, and is claimed to be the fastest-growing ideology in America.<ref>[http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/the-fastest-growing-religion-in-america-is-islam]</ref> This rapid growth is mainly due to conversions, high birth rates, and convenient redefinitions of the term "Muslim". Conversions to Christianity (from ''any'' faith or lack thereof) outnumber those to Islam, but are keeping up with the birthrate discrepancy.<ref>[http://www.bible.ca/global-religion-statistics-world-christian-encyclopedia.htm World Christian Encyclopedia]</ref><ref>[http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles6/AlJazeerahAfrica.php Translation of AL-Jazeerah interview between Maher Abdallah and Shiekh Ahmed Katani]</ref>

Islamic doctrine, including what is taught in [[North America]], teaches that 1 John 4:9, "God is love", is a false doctrine.<ref>http://www.arabicbible.com/for-christians/1313-christians-common-questions-about-islam.html?start=2</ref> The doctrine of ''Al-Wala wal-Bara'' teaches true faith is measured in sharing Allah's hatred of the ''kufr'', non-believers, or infidels.<ref>http://www.meforum.org/3545/islam-hatred-non-muslim</ref> In other words, Islamic doctrine teaches that Allah hates his own creation, sinful man, which John 3:16 teaches, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son." ''Al-Wala wal-Bara'', or divine hatred, is used to justify terrorist attacks. The believing Muslim feels he is carrying out Allah's will in killing Allah's enemies. Rather than the [[atonement|atoning]] blood of Jesus for sinful man, the murder of infidels and attacks on their societal institutions and national governments is aimed at blotting out evil in the world.

Even Orthodox Judaism teaches that Jehovah loves sinners. Psalm 138:8, for example, says, "The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands."

[[Indonesia]] has the largest Islamic population in the world.

=== Future of Islam in Europe and the desecularization of Europe ===
''See also: [[Atheism vs. Islam]] and [[Secular Europe]]''
[[File:Europe pol 2004.jpg|thumbnail|right|325px|In 2014, the Pew Research Forum indicated that [[Europe]] will go from 11% of the world's population to 7% of the world's population by 2050.<ref>[https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/02/03/10-projections-for-the-global-population-in-2050/ 10 projections for the global population in 2050] By Rakesh Kochhar, Pew Research Forum, February 3, 2014</ref>]]

In April 2010, Eric Kaufmann indicated concerning the future of Islam in Europe:
{{cquote|I address this in some detail in the book, as well is in a [http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/features/europes-muslim-future recent article in the April issue of Prospect magazine] here in Britain. The short answer is that I don’t foresee a Muslim-majority Europe in this century or in the next. Why? Mainly because Muslim birthrates are plunging both in Europe and the Muslim world. Already, Iran, Tunisia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and several other Muslim countries have replacement-level fertility or below. In the UK, Bangladeshi and Pakistani fertility has halved in a generation and is now under 3 children per woman. This means their long-term growth will begin to tail off. The other part of the equation is the rise of non-Muslim immigrant groups (African and West Indian Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and other Eastern faiths) who are also increasing and therefore making Europe more plural and, in the process, rendering it harder for Muslims to increase their share of the population.

That said, Muslim membership retention and in-group marriage is exceptionally high (over 90 per cent) and they are a much younger population than the host society. So they are on course for steady growth. My colleagues and I expect their fertility to fall to host levels by 2030, but they will still make up 5-15 per cent of most West European countries by 2050 and 10-25 per cent by 2100. This is a major change from the 2-6 per cent levels of today<ref>[http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/shall_the_religious_inherit_the_earth/#sthash.nE0JGi2Y.dpuf ''Shall the religious inherit the earth?''], 2010 Interview with [[Eric Kaufmann]] by MercatorNet</ref>}}

Due to the growing number of Muslims moving into secular Europe/[[Western World]] and the ideological differences between the [[atheist worldview]] and Islam, there has been growing tension between [[atheism|atheists]]/secularists and Muslims - particularly between [[Militant atheism|militant atheists]] and militant Islam.

The [[New Atheism|New Atheists]] [[Richard Dawkins]], [[Sam Harris]] and the late [[Christopher Hitchens]] have received multiple accusations of engaging in "[[Islamophobia|Islamophobic]]" behavior.<ref>
*[https://www.salon.com/2013/03/30/dawkins_harris_hitchens_new_atheists_flirt_with_islamophobia/ Dawkins, Harris, Hitchens: New Atheists flirt with Islamophobia] by Nathan Lean, ''Salon'', March 30, 2013
*[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/apr/03/sam-harris-muslim-animus Sam Harris, the New Atheists, and anti-Muslim animus] by Glenn Greenwald, ''The Guardian'', April 3, 2013</ref> On the other hand, defenders of atheist criticisms of Islam/Muslims indicated that New Atheists should be able to criticize Islam without being accused of "Islamophobia".<ref>[http://www.newstatesman.com/religion/2013/04/new-atheism-should-be-able-criticise-islam-without-being-accused-islamophobia New Atheism should be able to criticise Islam without being accused of Islamophobia] by Andrew Zak Williams, ''New Statesman'', Published 19 April 2013</ref>

For more information, please see:

*[[Atheism vs. Islam]]
*[[Atheism vs. Christianity]]

==Other a Fundamentalistsspects of Islam==
===Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem===
Muhammad's home city of Mecca was the site of his earliest preaching and conversions, and is the location of the Kaaba, traditionally held to be the foundation stone of the first mosque built by Adam and later restored by Abraham, and now the focus of the annual pilgrimage (hajj). Some historians suggest that the Kaaba, a black stone probably meteoric in origin, was venerated by pre-Islamic polytheistic religions.

At first, Jerusalem was claimed by Islam to be its holy city and the focus of prayers, but Mecca became the center of Islam after Muhammad's return in 630. Medina, because of its early association with Muhammad and as the site of Muhammad's tomb, is second in importance to Mecca. Jerusalem is revered by Muslims as the site of Solomon's temple, Abraham's near-sacrifice of his son Ishmael, and the scene of Muhammad's miraculous midnight journey, the latter two now enshrined in the [[Dome of the Rock]] mosque. According to the Koran (Surrah 17:1, Isra) and Hadith, Muhammad and Gabriel were taken on winged mules from Mecca to Jerusalem, where they ascended through the seven heavens to the presence of Allah. During the visit, Muhammad learned, among other points, that Muslims were to pray five times each day and to honor Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and the other prophets.

===People of the Book===
Christians and Jews are called "people of the Book" in the Koran and are considered earlier forerunners to Islam and viewed as brothers as long as they pay an extra tax when under Islamic rule. Islam, which claims roots tracing back to Abraham through his son Ishmael instead of Isaac as the Jews did, believes that they are the descendants of Allah's promise. Islam claims that both the Old and New Testament were corrupted and corrected by the Koran (though in truth, it is the Koran itself which plagiarized from and corrupted Biblical scripture), but there is still an earlier link claimed between the two religions and Islam. The view of Jews and Christians varied within different parts of the Koran and Islamic history. Much of current Islamic culture, even in places that were once very tolerant such as Egypt, has seen an upsurge in persecution and violence against Christians and Jews.

===Jihad===
Jihad is the "struggle" each Muslim is called to against unbelievers (infidels). Participation in jihad in Allah's cause was the third most important good deed listed in the Hadith, after prayer and honoring one's parents. Jihad was a rallying cry for the military spread of Islam in the seventh through tenth centuries against non-Muslims, and is the same reason for Islamic terrorism and war today. 
Some Muslim apologists in the western world say that jihad refers to the difficulties a Muslim faces in the everyday trials of life, such as the effort to get better grades in school, or the striving to achieve better results from a job, or the struggle to avoid sinful temptations. It is, they say, the internal struggle of good and evil, or the pure and the impure. However, this is simply a fabrication, which has been publicly labeled as such by Muslim scholars in the middle east. Nonetheless, even some mosques not teach this, fostering a more peaceful version of Islam. Unfortunately, it is not based on the Koran and the Hadith, but rather modern revisions. Any Muslim believing this peaceful version can be corrected based on these sacred books, and thus become "radicalized."

====Violent passages of the Koran championed by Islam====
In its passages, the Koran has advocated adherents of Islam to commit acts of violence, hatred and insurrection against those who do not follow that ideology (in particular, Jews and Christians) or are critical of it, to subjugate Judaism, Christianity and other religions to Islam and to force the followers of legitimate religions to submit and adhere to Islam.<ref>[https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/quran/violence.aspx What Does Islam Teach About Violence]</ref><ref>[https://thereligionofpeace.com/pages/quran/hell-and-hate.aspx What Does Islam Teach About Hell and Hate]</ref> Not surprisingly, attempts at pointing out the violence advocated by the Koran have been met with denials and excuses by Islamic apologists, who engage in [[taqiyya]] by claiming that the critics of the violent passages took those passages "out of context" and that "critics only quote the part which (suits) them" while the apologists do exactly what they accuse the critics of doing.<ref>[https://discover-the-truth.com/2014/08/12/quran-2191-and-kill-them-wherever-you-find-them-explained/ Quran 2:191- ‘And kill them wherever you find them…’ Explained] - an attempt by Islamic apologists to excuse violent passages of the Koran by offering deceitful explanations of what they claim those passages "really mean"</ref><ref>[http://islam101.com/terror/verse8_12.htm The Holy Quran, verse 8:12], from another Islamic apologist site which excuses the violent passages of the Koran and attacks its critics by claiming "Some non-Muslims either through ignorance or Islam-bashing continue taking the verses of the Holy Quran out of context and its history to justify their false propaganda"</ref><ref>[https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/games/discover-truth/verses/47-4.aspx "Discover the Truth's" Game] - a refutation of the claims and excuses made by the Islamic apologist site Discover the Truth regarding Koran 47:4</ref><ref>[https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2005/01/jihad_quran_9123_v_matthew_103.html Jihad: Quran 9:123 v. Matthew 10:34] at American Thinker</ref><ref>[https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/06/obama_quotes_verse_532_omits_5.html Obama quotes (Koran) verse 5:32, omits 5:33] at American Thinker</ref> Among the more violent and hateful passages of the Koran are these:

*Koran 2:191 - “Slay the unbelievers wherever you find them.”
*Koran 9:123 - “Make war on the infidels living in your neighborhood.”
*Koran 9:5 - “When opportunity arises kill the infidels wherever you catch them.”
*Koran 3:85 - “Any religion other than Islam is not acceptable.”
*Koran 9:30 - “The Jews and the Christians are perverts; fight them.”
*Koran 5:33 - “Maim and crucify the infidels if they criticize Islam”
*Koran 9:28 - “The infidels are unclean; do not let them into a mosque.”
*Koran 22:19 - “Punish the unbelievers with garments of fire, hooked iron rods, boiling water; melt their skin and bellies.”
*Koran 47:4 - “Do not hanker for peace with the infidels; behead them when you catch them.”
*Koran 8:65 - “The unbelievers are stupid; urge the Muslims to fight them.”
*Koran 3:28 - “Muslims must not take the infidels as friends.”
*Koran 8:12 - “Terrorize and behead those who disbelieve (in Allah).”
*Koran 8:60 - “Muslims must muster all weapons to terrorize the infidels.”

====Osama bin Laden and fundamentalists====
[[Osama bin Laden]], a follower of [[Wahhabism]], stated that Islam is at war with the United States and its allies. Some observers claim that the number of Islamic fundamentalists is growing and poses a threat to the West.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.danielpipes.org/255/islamic-fundamentalists-are-the-new-big-threat-to-the-west|title=Islamic Fundamentalists are the New Big Threat to the West|author=Daniel Pipes|newspaper=Philadelphia Inquirer|date=Sept 16, 1994}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.city-journal.org/html/rev2006-06-04td.html|title=All or Nothing: The quest for a moderate Islam may be futile.|date=June 4, 2006|author=Theodore Dalrymple|newspaper=Cite Journal}}</ref> But other observers differentiate between conservative "fundamentalists" and the "extremists" who follow murderers such as bin Laden or other terrorists.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://townhall.com/columnists/dineshdsouza/2008/09/15/who_speaks_for_islam/page/full/|title=Who Speaks For Islam|author=Dinesh D'Souza|newspaper=Townhall|date=Sept 15, 2009}}</ref> In several major Islamic nations, bin Laden had the support of the majority of people in the early years after the 9/11 attacks. As he lost battles with the West and started to target fellow Muslims his popularity waned.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewglobal.org/2012/04/30/on-anniversary-of-bin-ladens-death-little-backing-of-al-qaeda/|title=On Anniversary of bin Laden’s Death, Little Backing of al Qaeda|date=April 30, 2012|publisher=Pew Research Center}}</ref>

===Islam and forced conversion===
The Quran and the various Hadiths teach Muslims to fight Non-Muslims until they are killed, converted, or in a permanent state of subjugation.
*Quran (8:38-39) - “Say to those who have disbelieved, if they cease (from disbelief) their past will be forgiven... And fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief and polytheism: i.e. worshipping others besides Allah) and the religion (worship) will all be for Allah Alone [in the whole of the world ]. But if they cease (worshipping others besides Allah), then certainly, Allah is All-Seer of what they do.”

*Quran (9:29) - "Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued."

*Quran (9:5) "But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war); but if they repent, and establish regular prayers and practice regular charity, then open the way for them..."

*Quran (9:11) - (Continued from verse 9:5) "But if they repent and establish worship and pay the poor-due, then are they your brethren in religion"

*Quran (9:56-57) - "And they swear by Allah that they are most surely of you, and they are not of you, but they are a people who are afraid (of you). If they could find a refuge or cave or a place to enter into, they would certainly have turned thereto, running away in all haste."

*Quran (2:193) - "And fight them until fitna is no more, and religion be only for Allah. But if they desist, then let there be no hostility except against wrong-doers."

*Qur'an (3:83) - "Are they seeking a religion other than Allah's, when every soul in the heavens and the earth has submitted to Him, willingly or by compulsion?"

*Sahih Muslim (1:33) The Messenger of Allah said: "I have been commanded to fight against people till they testify that there is no god but Allah, that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, and they establish prayer and pay zakat."

*Sahih Muslim (19:4294) - "When you meet your enemies who are polytheists (which includes Christians), invite them to three courses of action. If they respond to any one of these, you also accept it and withhold yourself from doing them any harm. Invite them to (accept) Islam; if they respond to you, accept it from them and desist from fighting against them ... If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the Jizya. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah's help and fight them"

*Sahih Bukhari (84:59) - "Allah's Apostle said, 'I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.' And if they say so, pray like our prayers, face our Qibla and slaughter as we slaughter, then their blood and property will be sacred to us and we will not interfere with them except legally and their reckoning will be with Allah.'"

*Sahih Bukhari (53:392) - "While we were in the Mosque, the Prophet came out and said, "Let us go to the Jews" We went out till we reached Bait-ul-Midras. He said to them, "If you embrace Islam, you will be safe. You should know that the earth belongs to Allah and His Apostle, and I want to expel you from this land. So, if anyone amongst you owns some property, he is permitted to sell it, otherwise you should know that the Earth belongs to Allah and His Apostle."

*Sahih Bukhari (2:24) - "Allah's Apostle said: "I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight against the people until they testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah's Apostle, and offer the prayers perfectly and give the obligatory charity, so if they perform a that, then they save their lives and property from me except for Islamic laws and then their reckoning (accounts) will be done by Allah."

*Sahih Bukhari (60:80) - "The Verse:--'You (true Muslims) are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind.' means, the best of peoples for the people, as you bring them with chains on their necks till they embrace Islam."

*Sahih Bukhari (60:40) - "...:And fight them till there is no more affliction (i.e. no more worshiping of others along with Allah)."

*Sahih Bukhari (59:643) - "Testify that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah, or else I will chop off your neck!"

*Ibn Kathir v.4 p.133, Ibn Ishaq/Hisham 959 - "Then the apostle sent Khalid bin Walid… to the Banu al-Harith and ordered him to invite them to Islam three days before he attacked them. If they accepted then he was to accept it from them, and if they declined he was to fight them. So Khalid set out and came to them, and sent out riders in all directions inviting the people to Islam, saying, 'If you accept Islam you will be safe.' So the men accepted Islam as they were invited."

*Ibn Kathir (Commenting on Quran 2:256 in the unabridged version of his tafsir) - "Therefore all people of the world should be called to Islam. If anyone of them refuses to do so, or refuses to pay the jizya, they should be fought till they are killed."

===Islam and slavery===
*Quran (33:50) - ''"O Prophet! We have made lawful to thee thy wives to whom thou hast paid their dowers; and those (slaves) whom thy right hand possesses out of the prisoners of war whom Allah has assigned to thee"
''
*Quran (23:5-6) - ''"..who abstain from sex, except with those joined to them in the marriage bond, or (the captives) whom their right hands possess..."
''
*Quran (4:24) - ''"And all married women (are forbidden unto you) save those (captives) whom your right hands possess."
''
*Quran (8:69) - ''"But (now) enjoy what ye took in war, lawful and good"''

*Quran (24:32) - ''"And marry those among you who are single and those who are fit among your male slaves and your female slaves..."''

*Quran (2:178) - ''"O ye who believe! Retaliation is prescribed for you in the matter of the murdered; the freeman for the freeman, and the slave for the slave, and the female for the female."
''
*Quran (16:75) - ''"Allah sets forth the Parable (of two men: one) a slave under the dominion of another; He has no power of any sort; and (the other) a man on whom We have bestowed goodly favours from Ourselves, and he spends thereof (freely), privately and publicly: are the two equal? (By no means;) praise be to Allah."
''
*Sahih Bukhari (41.598) - Muhammad establishes that slaves are property. They cannot be freed if an owner has outstanding debt, but they can be used to pay off the debt<ref>https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/quran/slavery.aspx</ref>

*Sahih Bukhari (62:137) - Gives an account of women taken as slaves in battle by Mohammed's men after their husbands and fathers were killed. The women were raped with Mohammed's approval.

*Sahih Bukhari (34:432) - Another account of women taken captive and raped with Mohammed's approval. In this case it is evident that the Muslims intend on selling the women after raping them because they are concerned about devaluing their price by impregnating them. Muhammad is asked about coitus interruptus.

*Sahih Bukhari (47:765) - A woman is rebuked by Mohammed for freeing a slave girl. The prophet tells her that she would have gotten a greater heavenly reward by giving her to a relative (as a slave).

*Sahih Bukhari (2:15:103) - ''"I was watching the display of black slaves in the mosque..."''

*Sahih Bukhari (59:637) - ''"The Prophet sent Ali to Khalid to bring the Khumus (of the booty) and I hated Ali, and Ali had taken a bath (after a sexual act with a slave-girl from the Khumus). I said to Khalid, 'Don't you see this (i.e. Ali)?' When we reached the Prophet I mentioned that to him. He said, 'O Buraida! Do you hate Ali?' I said, 'Yes.' He said, 'Do you hate him, for he deserves more than that from the Khumlus.'"''

*Abu Dawud (2150) - ''"The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) sent a military expedition to Awtas on the occasion of the battle of Hunain. They met their enemy and fought with them. They defeated them and took them captives. Some of the Companions of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) were reluctant to have intercourse with the female captives in the presence of their husbands who were unbelievers. So Allah, the Exalted, sent down the Qur’anic verse: (Quran 4:24) 'And all married women (are forbidden) unto you save those (captives) whom your right hands possess.'"
''
*Abu Dawud (1814) - ''"...[Abu Bakr] He then began to beat [his slave] him while the Apostle of Allah (pbuh) was smiling and saying: Look at this man who is in the sacred state (putting on ihram), what is he doing?"
''
*Abu Dawud (38:4458) - ''Narrated Ali ibn AbuTalib: “A slave-girl belonging to the house of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) committed fornication. He (the Prophet) said: Rush up, Ali, and inflict the prescribed punishment on her. I then hurried up, and saw that blood was flowing from her, and did not stop. So I came to him and he said: Have you finished inflicting (punishment on her)? I said: I went to her while her blood was flowing. He said: Leave her alone till her bleeding stops; then inflict the prescribed punishment on her. And inflict the prescribed punishment on those whom your right hands possess (i.e. slaves)”.''

*Abu Dawud (1:142) - ''"Do not beat your wife as you beat your slave-girl"''

===Stealing from non-Muslims===
The Koran and the various Hadiths encourage Muslims to steal from non-Muslims.
*Koran (8:69) - "So enjoy what you took as booty; the spoils are lawful and good."

*Koran (48:20) - "Allah promised you many acquisitions which you will take, then he hastened on this one for you and held back the hands of men from you, and that it may be a sign for the believers and that he may guide you on a right path."

*Koran (33:27) - "And he caused you to inherit their land and their houses and their wealth, and land ye have not trodden. Allah is ever able to do all things."

*Sahih Bukhari (53:351) - " Allah's Messenger said, "Booty has been made legal for me."

*Ibn Ishaq (327) - "Allah made booty lawful and good. He used it to incite the Muslims to unity of purpose. So enjoy what you have captured."

*Ibn Ishaq (503) - "Allah saw what was in their hearts [what they coveted] so he rewarded them with victory and with as much spoil as they could take. Allah promised that they would soon capture a great deal of booty.”

*Sahih Bukhari (44:668) - "We were in the company of the Prophet at Dhul-Hulaifa. The people felt hungry and captured some camels and sheep (as booty)..."

*Ahmad 4869 (also found in the original Hadith of Bukhari and Sahih al Jaami' AsSagheer 2828) - It is mentioned from Ibn ‘Umar from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, “I have been raised between the hands of the Hour with the sword, until Allah the Exalted is worshipped alone with no associates. He has provided sustenance from beneath the shadow of spears and has decreed humiliation and belittlement for those who oppose my order.”<ref>https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/quran/stealing.aspx</ref>

===Contamination of food given to non-Muslims===
There have been incidents where Muslims contaminate food given to Non-Muslims:
*In 2008, in the U.K, Saeed Hashmi and Jan Yadgari, the owners of a restaurant, sold chocolate cake sprayed with human feces.<ref>https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/07/uk-muslim-who-sprayed-food-with-feces-and-urine-cant-be-deported</ref>

*In July 2019, the local branch of ISIS in India planned to poison prasadam at a Hindu temple, to kill over 400 Hindu devotees. The suspects were arrested before they could do this.<ref>https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/terror-group-islamic-state-zakir-naik-mumbreshwar-temple-1573514-2019-07-25</ref>

*In August 2019, a Muslim vendor in the city of Meerut in India was caught mixing his Urine and Sperm in Biryani that he sold to Hindus.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LGuYkInllg</ref>

*On April 3, 2020, a Muslim fruit vendor in India was caught licking fruits before selling them.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPoFAe52uw4&feature=emb_title</ref>

*On May 8, 2020, a Muslim man by the name of Abdul Nazim Sheikh Mahmood was caught on video licking bread while cutting it. The incident occurred in Maharashtra, India.<ref>https://www.opindia.com/2020/05/maharashtra-man-arrested-in-amravati-after-video-of-him-spitting-on-bread-in-a-bakery-goes-viral-on-tiktok/</ref>

*On February 21, 2021, a Muslim man by the name of Sohail was caught on video spitting on Rotis while cooking for a wedding in the city of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, India.<ref>https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/watch-man-spits-on-tandoori-rotis-while-cooking-at-wedding-in-ups-meerut-arrested/723272</ref>

*On March 19, 2021, two Muslim men by the names of Sabi Anwar and Ibrahim were caught on camera spitting on Rotis that they were preparing.<ref>https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/2-staffers-held-for-spitting-on-rotis/article34103460.ece</ref>

===Restrictions===
Observant Muslims are not supposed to eat pork and in general do not have dogs as pets; both swine and canines are considered unclean. Muslims can have dogs for safety. Muslims are prohibited from drinking alcoholic beverages, gambling, and from collecting interest on financial transactions.

===Women in Islam===
[[File:Muslim girls at Istiqlal Mosque Jakarta Indonesia.jpg|left|thumb|240px|Muslim girls at Istiqlal [[Mosque]], Jakarta.]]
In pre-Islamic times women's rights were defined by tribal laws which differed among the tribes. Some women had absolute equity and the ability to hold power, while some women were treated worse than chattel; bride prices, unlimited polygamy, and female infanticide were a common theme. [[Sharia law|Islamic law]] offered a path for which Muslim men could regulate women in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence on the Arabian peninsula. Treated merely as individual sex objects, women were granted very limited rights but as distinct legal individuals; forced to marry who their parents tell them to, women are required not to directly object in order for the marriage contract to have some form of validity.

Unlike the pre-Islamic times where unlimited polygamy occurred, [[Sharia law]] limits [[polygamy]] to a maximum of four wives at any one time, though the use of "temporary" marriage in effect rendered this restriction meaningless. Once married, only men are entitled to divorce any time they please. The reality of traditional Sharia law as applied in the modern era has shocked the modern conscience.<ref>Linda Rae Bennett, ''Women, Islam and Modernity'' (2005)</ref> These restrictions on women were put into place over a thousand years ago, and there has been little progress since. Women are still not allowed to drive a [[car]], they cannot ride [[bicycle]]s, are unable to [[vote]], have been prohibited from traveling abroad without permission, and they can't use public facilities when men are present.

[[File:Sharia.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Muslim woman tortured under Sharia law.]]
Women in Islam are treated as inferiors to men in almost every regard and women's rights are all but non-existent in Islam, a fact conveniently ignored by the ideology's liberal allies (including in [[feminism]] and the [[mainstream media]]). In [[Sharia]], the testimony of one man equals that of five women. Women are required to cover the head and body in public, by wearing the hijab. Hijab is applied in different ways: a small scarf around the head and western street clothes may be acceptable in Cairo or Damascus but a full length opaque [[burqa]] was enforced in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. As of 2008, [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Iran]], and [[Pakistan]] are the most significant Middle Eastern countries where the government requires women to wear some form of restrictive garb, though cultural pressure in most Islamic countries offers women little choice but to submit to the dictat of hijab. Women who are claimed by their husbands or family to have disgraced their family are put to death in "[[honor killing]]s"; buried halfway or sometimes up to their neck so they cannot run, women, who are in most cases victims, are stoned to death.

====Honor killings====
Another violent practice continued in Islamic countries is [[honor killing]], in which a brother, father, or uncle "restores" or "defends" a family's honor by killing the sister, daughter, or niece that "dishonored" the family through supposedly "promiscuous" behavior. This "promiscuous" activity often includes women from Islamic societies living in the West aspiring to a more open lifestyle. The "honor killing" is more ancient, and pagan in origin, but tolerated and practiced more or less openly in some Islamic societies.

Some apologists might try to excuse or justify this practice by putting down this verse:

<blockquote>
'Because of that, We decreed...that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land - it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one - it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were transgressors.' -5:32. [http://quran.com/5/32].
</blockquote>

Notice the ellipses between decreed and that? I hope you did, and if you followed the link you would know that this was decreed to the Children of Israel, who would be the Jews. Now, how could this be a defense against honor killing in Islamic countries if this wasn't even given to Muslims? The answer lies in the very next verse:

<blockquote>
'Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive upon earth [to cause] corruption is none but that they be killed or crucified or that their hands and feet be cut off from opposite sides or that they be exiled from the land. That is for them a disgrace in this world; and for them in the Hereafter is a great punishment, Except for those who return [repenting] before you apprehend them. And know that Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.' (5:33-34) [http://quran.com/5/33] [http://quran.com/5/34]
</blockquote>

So what we get from that, unlike the Jews where it is a blessing not to commit murder, for Muslims, it is a deed for Allah to murder those who have "caused corruption". Among these that "cause corruption" could be one's daughter, sister, or wife who is not wearing the headscarf, praying five times a day, not fasting in Ramadan, becoming too Westernized, etc., and thus honor killing would be "justified" in their view. Of course if you look at the next verse, it says that you should be merciful to those who have repented -before you apprehend them. This implies that they will be terrorized, and then there self-preservation instinct will kick in and they will repent. But what about those who don't? What if one's female relative doesn't believe that the headscarf is necessary while you do? And what if she still believes the same way after you apprehend her? You follow 5:33. As Muhammed himself proclaimed:

<blockquote>
I have been made victorious with terror.'
-Bukhari 4.52.220 [http://www.quranexplorer.com/Hadith/English/Hadith/bukhari/004.052.220.html].
</blockquote>

====Female genital mutilation====
Female genital mutilation (also known as "female circumcision") is mentioned in Hadith as an "honorable" condition for a woman, and act to carry out. It is a pre-Islamic tradition in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, though not in Coptic Egypt as some Islamic apologists claim. Female genital mutilation is not called for nor is it supported by the Koran.

====Abortion====
Muslims see [[abortion]] as ''haram'' (forbidden), but accept it if the life of mother is at risk.<ref>https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/islamethics/abortion_1.shtml</ref>

====Islamic dress is regular grounds for conflict in multicultural education====
Treatment of women varies widely by country. In the Islamic state of Saudi Arabia women are forbidden from driving a car, traveling in public without their husband or a male family member as an escort, leaving their home without wearing Islamic dress, working or voting. Though not formally forbidden from owning property, they have no way of obtaining this as work is forbidden and only males are permitted to inherit – should a man die, his brothers, sons, and father will all inherit before his wife. These restrictions are part of Sharia law and enforced by the police and a special Islamic office. Pakistan has similar restrictions but to a lesser extent. In contrast, [[Turkey]] has a majority Muslim population and yet grants women some rights similar to those of men including property ownership, employment, and education to university level.

Islamic apologists suggest the extremely repressive policies of countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are cultural rather than religious, though these are the countries where traditional Islam is strongest. They point to the more moderate Islam practiced in Turkey as a demonstration that Islam and women's rights are compatible, ignoring the efforts of traditionalists in Turkey to end the few freedoms women were granted by men.

Islamic women's status is controversial. While Islamic men control and oppress Islamic women by compelling them to remain hidden behind the veil, sequestered in the home, and ignorant of the world by denying them access to education and worldly opportunities, Islamic apologists defend some practices. These men claim that many of the restrictions on women, such as the veil, are cultural traditions that pre-date Islam and are intended to protect women from predatory men. Unfortunately, such Islamic men ignore the fact that if a predatory man or group of rapists were to sexually assault an Islamic woman in Islam, she would be punished under Sharia law for "allowing" such an act to occur, and she would likely receive hundreds of lashes and years of jail time or be punished with death; the predatory man or men commonly go unpunished or only receive very light punishments at worst.

=== Atheism vs. Islam ===
From a global perspective, [[Europe]] is more secular/[[Atheism|atheistic]] than the rest of the world although it does have a considerable amount of religious immigrants who have higher birth rates (see: [[Secular Europe]] and [[Atheist population]] and [[Global atheism]]).

===Anti-science===
Modern science started in Christian Europe, not the Islamic world, and not even China. The Islamic world has not accomplished anything major in the sciences, unless copying counts. The Muslims borrowed their architecture from the Byzantines. For example, the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem was built and designed by Byzantine craftsmen. Thousands of years before Muhammad was born, the Greeks discovered algebra and the Persians built the first astrolabe, though no denying that the Arabs were influential in naming it. After Greece and China established academies with Syrian Christians starting the School of Nisibis, the first school of higher education to achieve university status was the University of Bologna, while Al-Ahzar University was established as a madrassa around 970 AD, but did not achieve university status until 990 years later; the first hospital was built by the heretical Nestorians. The Indian numerals were actually modified in Europe, but ironically, the Arabic language was the last one to adopt the modified version.

==Historical background==
According to Islamic belief, in approximately 610 A.D., [[Muhammad]], a 40-year-old merchant of the Quraysh tribe in [[Mecca]], located in the Hijaz (now eastern [[Saudi Arabia]]), was commanded by the angel [[Gabriel]] (or Jibreel) to "recite" the message of Allah (professed by adherents of Islam to be their god). Gabriel said mankind had lost sight of Allah's previous messages to earlier prophets, [[Adam]], [[Noah]], [[Abraham]], [[Moses]], [[Solomon]], and [[Jesus]], among others, and that Muhammad was to spread Allah's message to all people so that mankind would know how to live, how to show respect for Allah, and how to prepare for the judgment day.
[[File:Islam750.jpg|right|thumb|Map of the expansion of Islam]]
The message to Muhammad was to be Allah's last and fullest revelation, a direct copy of the Umm Al Khitab, the mother of all books located in heaven next to Allah; Muhammad was the "seal of the prophets." Muhammad won some converts to Islam in his local area, but his [[monotheist]] preaching threatened to undermine the profitable [[polytheist]] pilgrim traffic supporting many Meccan merchants. In 622 A.D., the merchants drove Muhammad and his followers out of Mecca to the city of Yathrib (later renamed [[Medina]], or the city – as in the city of the prophet). This flight (hijra) from Mecca to Medina marks the beginning of the Islamic lunar calendar, and is celebrated each year in the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Muhammad's forces, composed of the sahaba (companions) from Mecca, and the Ansar (allied tribes from Yathrib) started attacking the trade caravans going in and out of Mecca, cutting off its economic lifeline. After a series of battles between the Meccans and Muhammad's forces, Mecca finally accepted Muhammad's ultimatum to succumb and convert to Islam. The city welcomed the prophet back in 630. Muhammad died in 632.

Tribal elders in a traditional council called the "Shura" elected [[Abu Bakr]] to be Muhammad's successor, or [[Caliph]] (Khalifa). Abu Bakr united the tribes of the Arabian peninsula during his two years as head of the new faith. Upon his death, the elders elected [[Umar ibn al-Khattab]] the next Caliph. During Umar's ten-year reign, Islam invaded and spread through conquest and negotiation into [[Egypt]], [[Syria]], [[Palestine]], [[Iraq]], and parts of Persia (modern-day [[Iran]]). Umar was assassinated by a Persian in 644, and was succeeded by [[Uthman ibn Affan]], who continued the invasions to spread Islam into [[North Africa]], [[Cyprus]], the rest of Persia, [[Afghanistan]], and parts of [[India]] and [[Pakistan]]. Over the next two centuries, Islamic armies continued to expanded Islam's empire into sub-Saharan Africa, [[Spain]], South-east and Central Asia, and [[Turkey]].

The Muslim armies conquered and superseded the ancient Sassanid and Byzantine empires which had ruled before. Within a generation of Muhammad's death Islamic armies occupied an empire stretching from the Nile river to the far-off Persian province of Khorasan. Reasons for the rapid conquest are varied and obscure. The Arab armies were more akin to tribal war bands raiding and settling where and when they could. The Byzantine and Sassanid empires had been at war for centuries. The constant simmering conflict between Constantinople and Persia reached a climax in the early 7th century. The Sassanids conquered briefly Egypt and the Levant threatening the central Byzantine heartland of Anatolia. Under the military reforms of the emperor Heraclius, the Byzantine army consolidated and counterattacked, recapturing all that they had lost and capturing the Sassanian capital of Ctesiphon in 628.

This brief end of the Roman-Persian wars disrupted the frontier areas which had predicated their economies on raiding and mercenary activities. Two major areas in Arabia were directly affected. The Lackmid tribe and the Gassanid tribe both acted as mercenaries for the Persians and Romans. The official religion of both tribes analogically mirrored that of their overseers. Monophysite Christianity was common, particularly of the Jacobite sect. The death of Muhammad and the subsequent Ridda wars occupied these warrior tribes until the reign of Caliph Umar. Additionally, there was great religious unrest in the Levant and Egypt. These areas resented the ruinous taxes and the harsh orthodoxy imposed by the emperor in Constantinople.

The same climate was present in the Sassanid realm with the rise of the dualism of the Manicheans. Under the Caliph Umar, the Arab tribes which had concluded the infighting following the death of Muhammad were allowed to raid into the Byzantine and Sassanid frontiers. The weakened state of both regimes from both military and economic exhaustion and religious unrest made them fertile picking grounds for the tribal warbands. The Arabs were chiefly successful in holding these areas in that they upheld a lightweight regime of low taxes based on the Islamic laws and distant government. Rather than employing an army of bureaucrats and nobility, the early Arab empire was more favorable towards maintaining the existing government structures under the leadership of Arab tribes. In this atmosphere, it is hardly surprising to note the reports from both Islamic and Christian sources of peaceful capitulation and invitation of the invading forces.

[[File:Madina Haram at evening .jpg|center|800px|thumb|Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (the Mosque of the Prophet) in [[Medina]], [[Saudi Arabia]], the site of [[Muhammad|Muhammad's]] tomb.]]

=== Islam and war ===
''See also: [[Irreligion/religion and war]] and [[Islamic terrorism]] and [[Atheism vs. Islam]]''

In his book ''The Irrational [[Atheism|Atheist]]'', [[Vox Day]] wrote:
{{Cquote|It’s also interesting to note that more than half of these religious wars, sixty-six in all, were waged by Islamic nations, which is rather more than might be statistically expected considering that the first war in which Islam was involved took place almost three millennia after the first war chronicled in the ''Encyclopedia'', Akkad’s conquest of Sumer in 2325 B.C.

In light of this evidence, the fact that a specific religion is currently sparking a great deal of
conflict around the globe cannot reasonably be used to indict all religious faith, especially when one
considers that removing that single religion from the equation means that all of the other religious
faiths combined only account for 3.35 percent of humanity’s wars.<ref>[http://www.voxday.net/mart/TIA_free.pdf The Irrational Atheist - Abbreviated free copy on PDF]</ref>}}

===Islam and Christianity===
''See also: [[Dhimma]]''

While adherents of Islam do not believe Jesus to be the Son of God or in the Resurrection, they consider Him and His mother to be among Allah's most important prophets (Marian and Isa) otherwise known as Mary and Jesus. However, the Koran warns against worshipping Jesus, Muhammad, and other humans for fear of [[idolatry]].<ref>[http://www.ccg.org/_domain/ccg.org/Islam/Islam.htm Christian Churches of God Articles on Islam], March 10, 2007</ref>

The Koran states that non-believers will be punished, though the nature of the punishment is not specified (same as similar statements in the Bible and the Torah):

{{cquote|Surely, disbelievers are those who said:
'Allah is the third of the three (in a Trinity).' But there is no god but One, Allah.
And if they cease not from what they say, verily, a painful torment will befall the disbelievers among them.

Will they not repent to Allah and ask His Forgiveness? For Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.

The Messiah, son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger; many were the Messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a Siddiqah (i.e. she believed in the words of God and His Books ).
They both used to eat food (as any other human eat).
Look how We make the signs clear to them, yet look how they are deluded away (from the truth)."
}}
::(Koran 5:73-75)

However, Islam does recognize Christians and Jews as "people of the book" since both refer to one God only, and recognize Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic) as a founding prophet.

==Critics==
Most contemporary critics of Islam are either atheists or nominally religious: [[Ibn Warraq]] (author), [[Wafa Sultan]] (psychiatrist), [[Ayaan Hirsi Ali]] (author), [[Hugh Fitzgerald]] (of JihadWatch), [[Oriana Fallaci]] (author), [[Geert Wilders]] (politician), [[Sam Harris]] (author), [[Pamela Geller]] (blogger), [[Bill Maher]] (comedian) and the crowd at the Ayn Rand Institute. The notable exception is [[Robert Spencer]], who while a devout Catholic, criticizes Islam as the socio-political ideology it is. Political critics include [[Winston Churchill]],<ref>[http://thefederalistpapers.org/us/winston-churchills-brutal-takedown-of-islam-means-more-today-than-ever Winston Churchill’s Brutal Takedown of Islam Means More Today than Ever]</ref> [[Herman Cain]], [[Rick Santorum]],<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.news-press.com/article/20130323/NEWS0119/303230016/Santorum-delivers-warning-about-radical-Islam-during-Naples-appearance|title=Santorum delivers warning about radical Islam during Naples appearance|date=March 23, 2013|newspaper=Fort Meyers News Press|author=Lindsay Downey}}</ref> [[David Horowitz]] (author) and [[Pat Robertson]] (preacher). Neither [[Ronald Reagan]] (who helped mujahideen fight atheistic Communists) nor [[George W. Bush]] ("Islam means peace") saw Islam as the problem. Commentators note that the conservative response to fundamental Islam is a far cry from the complete and unequivocal condemnation of Communism during the heyday of the Cold War.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.liberty-and-culture.com/conservatives.html|title=The Conservative Response to the Islamic Threat.|author=Jason Pappas|date=Sept 5, 2004}}</ref> [[Dinesh D’Souza]] argues that Muslims are "God-fearing conservatives",<ref>{{cite book|author=Dinesh D’Souza|title=The Enemy At Home|year=2007|publisher= Doubleday}}</ref> even though they have formed convenient alliances with liberals and several Islamic countries (particularly Iran) have formed alliances with the Communist regimes in [[China]] and [[North Korea]] and the Marxist regime in [[Venezuela]] to oppose the United States and its Western allies.<ref>''Some of the text for this article was taken from "Islam: A Primer", Congressional Research Service Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain'' [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back]</ref>

===Ex-Muslims===
[[Michelle Malkin]] highlights a group of [[Ex-Muslims]] hoping to change the terms of debate about Islam in Europe. Maryam Namazie, the head of the British group said "Too many things in the media and government policies have been geared to pandering to the political Islamic movements and Islamic organizations."<ref>[http://michellemalkin.com/2007/06/20/ex-muslims-stand-up-in-britain/ Ex-Muslims stand up in Britain]</ref> Ex-Muslims include Ibn Warraq, Wafa Sultan, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Mark A. Gabriel, Walid Shoebat, and Mosab Hassan Yousef.

== See also ==
[[Image:Africa islam 87.jpg|thumb|Islam in Africa]]
*[[Arab American]]
*[[Islamic republic]]
*[[Islamophobia]]
*[[Qur'an]]
*[[Jihadism]], an extremist, take on Islam
*[[Ramadan]]
*[[In the midst of a Maelstrom: the Holy Spirit and silence: an essay]] encounter of Israeli Messianic Jew and Egyptian Muslim in Alexandria
*[[List of countries by number of Muslims]]
*[[Undercover Muslim]]
*[[Islamic worldviews]]
*[[Islamophilia]]
*[[Judaism and Islam]]
*[[Atheism vs. Islam]]
*[[Islam and Christianity]]

==Further reading==
* Armour, Rollin. ''Islam, Christianity, and the West: A Troubled History'' (2002) [https://www.amazon.com/Islam-Christianity-West-Troubled-History/dp/1570754071/ref=sr_1_32?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342713&sr=1-32 excerpt and text search]
* Armstrong, Karen. ''Islam: A Short History'' (2002) [https://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-Modern-Library-Chronicles/dp/081296618X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Berkey, Jonathan P. ''The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800'' (2002) [https://www.amazon.com/Formation-Islam-Religion-Society-600-1800/dp/0521588138/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342713&sr=1-27 excerpt and text search]
* Campo, Juan Eduardo. ''Encyclopedia of Islam'' (2009), basic introduction
* Esposito, John J. ''The Oxford History of Islam'' (2000) [https://www.amazon.com/Oxford-History-Islam-John-Esposito/dp/0195107993/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-6 excerpt and text search]
* Glasse, Cyril. ''The New Encyclopedia of Islam'' ( 2nd ed. 2008)
* Lewis, Bernard. ''Islam in History: Ideas, People, and Events in the Middle East'' (2001), by leading conservative historian [https://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-People-Events-Middle/dp/0812695186/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342525&sr=1-15 excerpt and text search]
* Martin, Richard C. et al. ''Encyclopedia of Islam & the Muslim World'' (2003), more advanced
* Newby, Gordon. ''A Concise Encyclopedia of Islam'' (2002) [https://www.amazon.com/Concise-Encyclopedia-Islam-Gordon-Newby/dp/1851682953/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342942&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]
* Robinson, Chase F. ed. ''The New Cambridge History of Islam'' (Volume 1) (2009), summarizes advanced scholarship
* Ruthven, Malise, and Azim Nanji. ''Historical Atlas of Islam'' (2004)
* Schimmel, Annemarie. ''Islam: An Introduction''. (1992)
* Sonn, Tamara and Mary Williamsburg. ''A Brief History of Islam'' (2004) [https://www.amazon.com/Brief-History-Blackwell-Histories-Religion/dp/1405109009/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-12 excerpt and text search]
* Wheatcroft, Andrew. ''Infidels: A History of the Conflict Between Christendom and Islam'' (2005) [https://www.amazon.com/Infidels-History-Conflict-Between-Christendom/dp/0812972392/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342525&sr=1-13 excerpt and text search]

==External links==
*[http://muslim-canada.org/islam_christianity.html Islam and Christianity] - excellent article comparing and contrasting the two.
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/ Qur'an online in English]
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/ Sahih Bukhari (Hadith collection) online in English]
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/ Sahih Muslim (Hadith collection) online in English]
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/abudawud/ Sunan Abu-Dawud (Hadith collection) online in English]
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muwatta/ Malik's Muwatta (Hadith collection) online in English]
* Congressional Research Service, "Islam: A Primer", Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain and the source of part of this article [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back]
*[http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2011/01/islamists-torch-pope-in-effigy-again.html Islamists Torch Pope in Effigy, Again]
*[http://www.tribecatrib.com/news/2010/december/849_kind-strangers.html Muslims Saving Jews During World War II.] By Shane Dixon Kavanaugh.
*[http://differencesbetween.com/islam-and-muslim/ Difference Between Islam and Muslim]
*[http://bertschlossberg.blogspot.com/ A Turkish Delight: they think so in Israel too!]
*[http://bertschlossberg.blogspot.com/ Turkey's Islamic scholar, Rabbi Meir Lau, and Cain speechless before Abel]

==References==
{{reflist|group=note}}

[[Category:Islam]]
[[Category:Political Ideologies]]
[[Category:Perpetrators of Cancel Culture]]

Muhammad

2021-06-29T15:31:52Z

Andrewlee: Political too

{{Cquote|I have been sent with the shortest expressions bearing the widest meanings, and '''I have been made victorious with [[terrorism|terror]]''' (cast in the hearts of the enemy), and while I was sleeping, the keys of the treasures of the world were brought to me and put in my hand.<ref>[http://sunnah.com/bukhari/56/186 Narrated in Abu Huraira, in ''Bukhari'', Volume 4, Book 52, Number 220]</ref>}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name=Muhammad Muhammad Ibn Abdullah Mahomet
|image=Mohammad.jpg
|birth_date=c. April 20, 570<ref>https://www.geni.com/people/Prophet-Muhammad-of-Islam-PBUH/6000000000388939419</ref> c. April 26, 570<ref>https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8215419/muhammed</ref>
|birth_place=[[Mecca]], [[Saudi Arabia]]
|death_date=June 8, 632
|death_place=[[Medina]], [[Saudi Arabia]]
|religion=[[Islam]]
|spouse=13
*Khadija bint Khuwaylid
*Sawda bint Zamʿa
*Aisha bint Abi Bakr
*Hafsa bint Umar
*Zaynab bint Khuzayma
*Hind bint Abi Umayya
*Zaynab bint Jahsh
*Juwayriyya bint al-Harith
*Ramla bint Abi Sufyan
*Rayhana bint Zayd
*Safiyya bint Huyayy
*Maymunah bint al-Harith
*Maria al-Qibtiyya
|children=[[Qasim ibn Muhammad]] [[Zainab bint Muhammad]] [[Ruqayyah bint Muhammad]] [[Umm Kulthum bint Muhammad]] [[Fatimah bint Muhammad]] [[Abdullah ibn Muhammad]] [[Ibrahim ibn Muhammad]]
|alma_mater=
|party=
|office=Leader of the Muslims
|term_start=610
|term_end=632
|preceded=
|succeeded=[[Abu-Bakr]]
|battles=[[Conquest of Mecca]] (629/630) and [https://wikiislam.net/wiki/List_of_expeditions_of_Muhammad the other expeditions]
}}

'''Muhammad''' (also spelled '''Mohammed''' or (archaic) '''Mahomet''') (A.D 570 - 632) was the mythical founder of the ideology of [[Islam]]. A German Islamic scholar has said that Muhammad, "Likely never existed".<ref>https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB122669909279629451</ref> Robert Spencer an intellectual, has written a book titled, "Did Muhammad Exist?: An Inquiry into Islam's Obscure Origins" which gives detailed evidence as to why Muhammad never existed.

Claimed by adherents of Islam as the final and greatest "[[prophet]]"<ref>[http://www.billionbibles.org/sharia/muhammad-false-prophet.html "Prophet" Muhammad?]</ref> of [[Allah]] (which they and their liberal allies incorrectly claim to be the [[God]] of [[Christianity]] and [[Judaism]]<ref>[https://www.conservativenewsandviews.com/2016/12/27/clergy/islam-anti-civilization/ Islam: Anti-Civilization] at Conservative News and Views</ref><ref>[http://www.billionbibles.org/sharia/allah-moon-god.html Allah Moon God]</ref><ref>[https://biblebelievers.org.au/moongod.htm ALLAH – the Moon God (biblebelievers.org.au)]</ref>), Muhammad claimed in Allah's [[revelation]]s, via the angel Jibril or Djibril (whom many unquestioningly assume was the angel [[Gabriel]]), that Judaism and Christianity had grown corrupt, and that Muhammad was to restore the religion God intended. However, common criticisms of Mohammed are: his marriage to a nine-year-old girl was inappropriate; his authorization of the beating of disobedient wives given in the [[Koran]] is unacceptable; and he was a vengeful, man of war (Mohammed said, “If God gives me victory in Quraysh [Muhammad’s own tribe in Mecca] in the future, I will mutilate 30 of their men.”).<ref>See the following articles:
*[http://www.answering-islam.org/Authors/Wood/pedophile.htm Was Muhammad a Pedophile?] by David Wood
*[http://answering-islam.org/Silas/wife-beating.htm WIFE BEATING IN ISLAM]
*[https://billmuehlenberg.com/2008/11/21/jesus-muhammad-and-violence/ Jesus, Muhammad and Violence] by Bill Muehlenberg</ref>

In accordance with the Islamic [[hadith]], its adherents add the phrase of "sallalahu aleyhi wasallam" (or "SAW"), meaning "peace be upon him" (or "PBUH"), after speaking Muhammad's name.

Muhammad's conquests and political philosophy later served as inspiration for Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler, the latter of whom (at least) hoped to use Islam as a template to form a more totalitarian religion than Christianity after World War 2.

== Images ==
Representations of Mohammed are well known from early on, but not very common. While some Muslims hold beliefs that it is against Islam to make images of Mohammed, others have more relaxed attitudes, and among Shia Muslims, such pictures are common, and much liked.<ref>[http://www.hf.uib.no/religion/popularikonografi/default_eng.html Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion (AHKR), University of Bergen.]</ref>

== The Angel Jibril ==
The being Jibril is not absolutely of necessity proven to be the same being as Gabriel. The name is not exactly the same. The Arabic name claimed as being a translation of Gabriel is Jibril, Jibrīl, Jibreel, Jabrilæ or Djibril ('''جبريل , جبرائيل''').

The word "angel" means "messenger".<ref>"messenger"—The Hebrew word is '''מלאך''' ''malak''; the Greek word is ''αγγλος agglos'' "anglos, angel" (singular), plural ''αγγλοι aggloi'' "angloi, angels".</ref> There are "angels of God" (John 1:51) and "angels of Satan" (Revelation 12:7-9), for example, [[Apollyon|Abaddon]] the Destroyer.<ref>Revelation 9:11; Exodus 12:23; Job 1:9-12; 2:4-7; 1 Chronicles 21:1, 15-16, 27.</ref> Compare 2 Corinthians 11:12-15; Ephesians 6:12; Acts 26:18; Colossians 1:13, and [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/2_corinthians/11-14.htm multiple commentaries on 2 Corinthians 11:14 "And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light."]<ref>See the following articles:
*[https://www.answering-islam.org/authors/shamoun/gabriel_partner.html "The Angel Gabriel—Allah's Other Divine Partner", Sam Shamoun - Answering Islam (answering-islam.org)].
*[https://www.answers.com/Q/How_does_Angel_Gabriel_related_to_Islam How does Angel Gabriel related to Islam? - Answers (answers.com)]
*[https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100401085254AA31Lt2 Who was angel Jibril, was he really Angel Gabriel or the Satan in disguised? - Yahoo!Answers (answers.com)]</ref> Some claim that Muhammad encountered a demon in the darkness of the cave Hira, who claimed to be the angel Jibril.<ref>[http://bigfaithministries.com/muhammads-hira-cave-horror-encounter/ Muhammad's Encounter With A Demon In Cave Hira (bigfaithministries.com)]. Citations from the Hadith.</ref><ref>[http://harvardhouse.com/possession_of_muhammad.htm Was Muhammad Possessed? From Muslim reports (harvardhouse.com)] —A comparison of the experience of Saul of Tarsus and the experience of Muhammad.</ref> Others claim that the Prophet was looking at a night sky full of stars, the night of '''''al-Qadr''''' "The Majesty" (Sura 97).<ref>[http://www.aaiil.org/text/hq/trans/ch97.shtml Sura 97—Al-Qadr "The Majesty"—English text.]</ref><ref>[http://islamichouseofisrael.com/ihoi-blog/muhammad-didnt-meet-gabriel-in-a-cave.html Muhammad didn't meet Gabriel in a Cave (islamichouseofisrael.com)]</ref>

Assuming a real spirit messenger, and that It did indeed deliver the oracles of the Qur'an to Muhammad, and is the being responsible for delivering the message, there is no guarantee that It was not lying to Muhammad. There is a huge difference between a [[falsehood]] believed to be truth, and a [[lie]] which is intended to [[Deceit|deceive]]. Compare [[Specious reasoning]].

The various [[Name of God|names of God]] in the Bible include: [[YHWH]], [[Elohim]], El, Shaddai, ‘Elyon, [[Adonai]], Ba’al ("Lord"), and Ẓeba’ot ("Sabbaoth").<ref>Hebrew lacked vowels, and the English translation of “Yhwh” often inserts vowels to become “Yahweh”.</ref> The name ''Al’lah'' is not one of them. And the closest one is not even close: '''אלהי''' ''elohe''.<ref>'''אלהי''' ''elohe''—see [http://biblehub.com/hebrew/410.htm '''''el'''''] and [http://biblehub.com/hebrew/430.htm '''''elohiym''''']).</ref>

Regarding the prophesied signs which came to pass, compare Deuteronomy 13:1-5 and [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/deuteronomy/13-2.htm multiple commentaries on Deuteronomy 13:2].

== Life of Muhammad==
Muhammad is claimed to be descended from [[Abraham]] through his son [[Ishmael]] who, under God's orders, was left in the Arabian desert with only a little food and water. The spot where this occurred is now called [[Mecca]]; today, over 3 million Muslims annually re-enact the frantic running of Ishmael's mother Hagar as she looked for water, in which Ishmael hit the ground with his foot causing water to flow forth. Still flowing today, the spring is known as the Well of [[Zam Zam]].

Muhammad was orphaned at the age of six, as his father Abdullah died before he was born and his mother, Aminah, died soon after. This left him with his grandfather Abdul Muttalib, who died when he was six. He was then raised by his uncle [[Abu Talib]] (son of Abdul Muttalib), a powerful man among the Quraysh tribe who loved Muhammad more than anyone. Muhammad grew up, never taking part part in pagan rituals. He despised the actions, and began a tradition of fasting in the caves of Mecca every annual pilgrimage; the pagans at the time believed in [[Allah]], and the [[Hajj]], from the times of Ishmael, but they later added more gods to Allah. Lexically speaking, Allah comes from the word Ilah in [[Arabic]], with the definite article Al placed in front, making it "Al-Llah", translating as "The One God". This is why [[Islam]] was tolerated from the start by most — Muhammad claimed not to have introduced a new God but instead spoke of the God of Abraham, Jesus, and Moses.

Muhammad was respected in Medina as he would frequently solve disputes. He was nicknamed Al-Amin, or The Truthful One, and was well loved by all. His followers claim he was never known to lie, cheat, or steal, though those were all common practices by the pagans of his time and continues to be so in Islam to the present day.<ref>[http://www.billionbibles.org/sharia/taqiyya.html Taqiyya]</ref> Everyone, including his enemies like [[Abu Jahl]], claimed his lineage to Ishmael and Abraham.

When he was about 40 years old, Muhammad's supposed early revelations from the Angel Jibril spoke of a need to return to the [[monotheism]] of [[Abraham]]; however, Muhammad was unsure of himself upon encountering what seemed to him to be the Angel [[Gabriel]] and rushed to his house, terrified. He told his wife [[Khadija]] of the events, and she assured him that God wouldn't let this happen to such a humble man. Khadija later went on to see her uncle, a Christian scholar who, after reviewing his religious texts (note that these texts are not the texts of today, as the Christians of Mecca and the Arabs were not Pauline or Roman Christians), claimed Muhammad was the next prophet. This as well as the Jews in Medina, who were also expecting a new prophet, albeit a prophet from the Jewish tribe; Muhammad's claimed prophethood was an unpleasant surprise to many of them and hence they rejected him. In this way Muhammad saw himself at an early age as reviving an ancient faith, a perceived correction to [[Christianity]] and [[Judaism]], and restoring his people to what he saw as their rightful position as the true founders and heirs of [[monotheism]]. In these revelations, submission to the will of their claimed god — [[Allah]] — was critical. Muhammad's fledgling religion continued to develop throughout his life, through periodic revelations often relating directly to events currently facing his new faith. At one point, he admitted to being possessed by the devil.<ref>http://crossmuslims.blogspot.com/2011/10/muhammad-and-satan_24.html —link contains a blogger warning</ref>

The faith caught on slowly, winning only a few converts in Mecca (the first being his wife, Khadija). In 622 A.D, under increased pressure and ostracism from elders in Mecca, Muhammad began the [[hijra]], an organized exodus of his followers from Mecca to the city of [[Medina]]. [[Muslims]] date the formation of their ideology to the ''hijra'' itself, even beginning their dating system at this point.

Muhammad was first introduced to the people of [[Medina]]; when frequent wars broke out between Jewish tribes and Arab tribes, Muhammad was sent for as a mediator between the two. Most Jews spoke highly of Muhammad, accepting him as the next Prophet, although some disliked that he was not of the descent of Moses or Bani Israel. When Muhammad came to Medina, most problems were resolved, and it was hailed as a success. One important battle which shed light on Muslim-Jewish tensions was [[The Battle of the Trench]]: Although there was a pact called [[The Constitution of Medina]], one that gave all religions freedom and protective status under the Muslims, from Muslims or invaders, one Jewish tribe ([[Bani Qurayza]]) did not help defend the city. However, they allowed in Huyayy ibn Akhtab, a man exiled by Muhammad because of a dispute between Bani Qurayza and Bani Nadir, who encouraged Bani Qurayza to attack the Muslims and help the invaders so Muhammad would be defeated once and for all. Their plot was found out, though, and the pact was broken. This incident led to the execution of approximately 700 Jewish men<ref>Guillaume, p. 461-464</ref> from the tribe.

The execution was described as follows by Ibn Ishaq:
<blockquote>
Then they surrendered, and the apostle confined them in Medina in the quarter of d. al-Harith, a woman of B. al-Najjar. Then the apostle went out to the market of Medina (which is still its market today) and dug trenches in it. Then he sent for them and struck off their heads in those trenches as they were brought out to him in batches. Among them was the enemy of Allah Huyayy b. Akhtab and Ka`b b. Asad their chief. There were 600 or 700 in all, though some put the figure as high as 800 or 900. As they were being taken out in batches to the apostle they asked Ka`b what he thought would be done with them. He replied, 'Will you never understand? Don't you see that the summoner never stops and those who are taken away do not return? By Allah it is death!' This went on until the apostle made an end of them. Huyayy was brought out wearing a flowered robe in which he had made holes about the size of the finger-tips in every part so that it should not be taken from him as spoil, with his hands bound to his neck by a rope. When he saw the apostle he said, 'By God, I do not blame myself for opposing you, but he who forsakes God will be forsaken.' Then he went to the men and said, 'God's command is right. A book and a decree, and massacre have been written against the Sons of Israel.' Then he sat down and his head was struck off.<ref>Guillaume, p. 461-464</ref>
</blockquote>

There were eight men in the desert who were sick, so he told them that if they want their help, convert. So after he prescribed them camel milk and camel urine, they became apostates and got up next day in the early morning to kill the shepherd and escape with the camels. Muhammad sent an armed party to 20 men to get them back. So Muhammad got his sword, cut off their hands and feet then gouged their eyes and left them in the desert to die.<ref>[http://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/cruelty.htm Muhammad's Excessive Cruelty, Sam Shamoun]</ref>

In 629 A.D. Muhammad and his followers attacked Khaybar, a Jewish stronghold and slaughtered almost everyone in the tribe which included men, women and children. Afterwards, a Jewish woman invites Muhammad and his companions for dinner and they gladly accept in a gullible fashion, even though they just slaughtered her entire family. She then proceeded to serve them lamb. Once they started chowing down, one of Muhammad's companions, who had consumed some of the lamb, died due to it being poisoned in which point Muhammad spat his piece of lamb out. By then it was too late, since Muhammad would go on to suffer in agonizing pain where his companions would have to carry him around until he died a few years later being beside Aisha, his child bride. The Jewish woman said that the poison was a test of Muhammad's prophet hood in which he did not pass, proving that he was a false prophet. She was killed by Muhammad's followers soon after.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iU5CAzMGVA Remember Khaybar, David Wood]</ref>

There was a 90 year old tribal chief that criticized him, so he asked his henchmen to take for him her daughter and grandson and kill the men in her family. They grabbed her to place her between two camels facing each other back to back, and tied her legs with ropes to both camels and beat them. It can be found in the 16 minute YouTube film by a Coptic Christian that [[Barack Obama]] and [[Hillary Clinton]] accused of provoking the September 11, 2012 [[Benghazi Attack]].<ref>http://crossmuslims.blogspot.com/2012/10/innocence-of-muslims-dissected.html —link contains a blogger warning</ref>

== After Muhammad's death ==
Muhammad's death at an early age caused the splintering of his ideology into new subdivisions, over the question of succession. The groups called themselves the [[Sunnis]] and the [[Shiite|Shi'as]]. Many attribute this split to the high degree to which authority was centered in the powerful character of Muhammad himself: without his powerful personality, the movement could not survive intact.,<ref>[[Bernard Lewis]], ''What Went Wrong''</ref> however this depiction is not accurate in some lights. The [[Shi'as]] came into the picture much later than the death of Muhammad, and were first a nuisance group thought to be started by a Jew by the name of [[Abdullah ibn Saba]] who was burned at the stake by [[Abu Bakr]] for proclaiming [[Ali]] was God. Note that Ali disagreed with the punishment, because fire is a punishment only for Allah.

The failure or splintering of movements, such as personality cults, built around a charismatic leader is a recurring sociological problem, often studied by psychologists, and referred to as the problem of the [[routinization of charisma]].<ref>Maximillian Weber, ''Theory of Social and Economic Organization,'' in the chapter "The Nature of Charismatic Authority and its Routinization," see also Len Oakes, "Prophetic Charisma: The Psychology of Revolutionary Religious Personalities"</ref>

== Obama's opinion about presenting Muhammad in a non-favorable light ==
On September 25, 2012, in his address to [[United Nations General Assembly]], [[Barack Hussein Obama]] said that "'''The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam'''."<ref>FOX News: [https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/09/25/transcript-obama-address-to-un-general-assembly/ Transcript: Obama address to U.N. General Assembly] (September 25, 2012)</ref> This outrageous comment, yet another evidence that Barack Hussein Obama is almost certainly [[Obama's Religion|of Islamic heritage]], was predictably ignored by the [[liberal media]], but rightly highlighted by Conservative commentators.<ref>FOX News: [https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/09/26/media-ignore-obama-attack-on-those-who-slander-prophet-islam/ Media ignore Obama attack on ‘those who slander the Prophet of Islam’] (September 26, 2012)</ref> Obama didnt mention Muhammad racism against black people, who call Ethiopians "Raisin head",<ref>http://www.raceandhistory.com/cgi-bin/forum/webbbs_config.pl?md=read;id=554</ref> and portraying Satan as Black man.<ref>http://www.maxshimbaministries.com/2013/07/satan-looks-like-nabtal-sturdy-black.html</ref> without mention that he was major black slaves owner.<ref>[https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/07/will-mosques-next-muhammed-owned-several-slaves-four-slaves-black-involved-slave-trade/ Muhammed Owned Several Slaves, Four of his Slaves Were Black and He Was Involved in Slave Trade]</ref>

==See also==
*[[Slave ownership by Muhammad]]
*[[Islam]]
*[[Taqiyya]]/[[Taquiyyeh]]
*[[Muhammad cartoons controversy]]
*[[Abbas]]
*[[Umm Qirfa]]

== References ==
<references/>

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180123164729/http://wikiislam.net/wiki/List_of_Killings_Ordered_or_Supported_by_Muhammad List of Killings Ordered or Supported by Muhammad]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20181011062907/http://www.hirhome.com/islam/art.htm Muhammad's massacre of the Jewish tribe Banu Qurayzah]
* [http://youtu.be/FXfZWJTZsrw The Killing of Umm Qirfa by Muhammad]
* [https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/muhammad/qurayza.aspx The Myth: Muhammad Lived at Peace with the Jews Part 3: The Banu Qurayza (thereligonofpeace.com)]
* [https://www.raymondibrahim.com/2012/05/01/islamic-death-sex-in-context/ "Islamic ‘Death-Sex’ in Context" by Raymond Ibrahim - Published in ''FrontPage Magazine'']
* [http://biblicalmissiology.org/2017/04/10/is-allah-the-god-of-the-bible/ Is Allah the God of the Bible?, by Mike Tisdell (biblicalmissiology.org)] —''The writer says they cannot be the same''.
* [https://carm.org/god-islam-christianity-same Is Allah, the God of Islam, the same as the Yahweh the God of the Bible?, by Matt Slick - CARM Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry (carm.org)] —''Matt Slick points out what he calls "a gross error" in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 841, “ 'The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these '''profess''' to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day.' "''. (''boldface emphasis added'')
*[http://scborromeo.org/ccc/p123a9p3.htm#839 Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 839-870 (scborromeo.org)] —''access to CCC paragraph 841 in full context''. (See [[Quoting out of context]].)

[[Category:Islam]]
[[Category:Muslims]]
[[Category:Terrorists]]
[[Category:Pedophiles]]
[[Category:Mass Murderers]]
[[Category:Anti-Judaism]]
[[Category:Racists]]
[[Category:Sexual Immorality]]
[[Category:Anti-Christianity]]

Muhammad

2021-06-29T15:27:57Z

Andrewlee:

{{Cquote|I have been sent with the shortest expressions bearing the widest meanings, and '''I have been made victorious with [[terrorism|terror]]''' (cast in the hearts of the enemy), and while I was sleeping, the keys of the treasures of the world were brought to me and put in my hand.<ref>[http://sunnah.com/bukhari/56/186 Narrated in Abu Huraira, in ''Bukhari'', Volume 4, Book 52, Number 220]</ref>}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name=Muhammad Muhammad Ibn Abdullah Mahomet
|image=Mohammad.jpg
|birth_date=c. April 20, 570<ref>https://www.geni.com/people/Prophet-Muhammad-of-Islam-PBUH/6000000000388939419</ref> c. April 26, 570<ref>https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8215419/muhammed</ref>
|birth_place=[[Mecca]], [[Saudi Arabia]]
|death_date=June 8, 632
|death_place=[[Medina]], [[Saudi Arabia]]
|religion=[[Islam]]
|spouse=13
*Khadija bint Khuwaylid
*Sawda bint Zamʿa
*Aisha bint Abi Bakr
*Hafsa bint Umar
*Zaynab bint Khuzayma
*Hind bint Abi Umayya
*Zaynab bint Jahsh
*Juwayriyya bint al-Harith
*Ramla bint Abi Sufyan
*Rayhana bint Zayd
*Safiyya bint Huyayy
*Maymunah bint al-Harith
*Maria al-Qibtiyya
|children=[[Qasim ibn Muhammad]] [[Zainab bint Muhammad]] [[Ruqayyah bint Muhammad]] [[Umm Kulthum bint Muhammad]] [[Fatimah bint Muhammad]] [[Abdullah ibn Muhammad]] [[Ibrahim ibn Muhammad]]
|alma_mater=
|party=
|office=Muslim Religious Leader
|term_start=610
|term_end=632
|preceded=
|succeeded=[[Abu-Bakr]]
|battles=[[Conquest of Mecca]] (629/630) and [https://wikiislam.net/wiki/List_of_expeditions_of_Muhammad the other expeditions]
}}

'''Muhammad''' (also spelled '''Mohammed''' or (archaic) '''Mahomet''') (A.D 570 - 632) was the mythical founder of the ideology of [[Islam]]. A German Islamic scholar has said that Muhammad, "Likely never existed".<ref>https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB122669909279629451</ref> Robert Spencer an intellectual, has written a book titled, "Did Muhammad Exist?: An Inquiry into Islam's Obscure Origins" which gives detailed evidence as to why Muhammad never existed.

Claimed by adherents of Islam as the final and greatest "[[prophet]]"<ref>[http://www.billionbibles.org/sharia/muhammad-false-prophet.html "Prophet" Muhammad?]</ref> of [[Allah]] (which they and their liberal allies incorrectly claim to be the [[God]] of [[Christianity]] and [[Judaism]]<ref>[https://www.conservativenewsandviews.com/2016/12/27/clergy/islam-anti-civilization/ Islam: Anti-Civilization] at Conservative News and Views</ref><ref>[http://www.billionbibles.org/sharia/allah-moon-god.html Allah Moon God]</ref><ref>[https://biblebelievers.org.au/moongod.htm ALLAH – the Moon God (biblebelievers.org.au)]</ref>), Muhammad claimed in Allah's [[revelation]]s, via the angel Jibril or Djibril (whom many unquestioningly assume was the angel [[Gabriel]]), that Judaism and Christianity had grown corrupt, and that Muhammad was to restore the religion God intended. However, common criticisms of Mohammed are: his marriage to a nine-year-old girl was inappropriate; his authorization of the beating of disobedient wives given in the [[Koran]] is unacceptable; and he was a vengeful, man of war (Mohammed said, “If God gives me victory in Quraysh [Muhammad’s own tribe in Mecca] in the future, I will mutilate 30 of their men.”).<ref>See the following articles:
*[http://www.answering-islam.org/Authors/Wood/pedophile.htm Was Muhammad a Pedophile?] by David Wood
*[http://answering-islam.org/Silas/wife-beating.htm WIFE BEATING IN ISLAM]
*[https://billmuehlenberg.com/2008/11/21/jesus-muhammad-and-violence/ Jesus, Muhammad and Violence] by Bill Muehlenberg</ref>

In accordance with the Islamic [[hadith]], its adherents add the phrase of "sallalahu aleyhi wasallam" (or "SAW"), meaning "peace be upon him" (or "PBUH"), after speaking Muhammad's name.

Muhammad's conquests and political philosophy later served as inspiration for Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler, the latter of whom (at least) hoped to use Islam as a template to form a more totalitarian religion than Christianity after World War 2.

== Images ==
Representations of Mohammed are well known from early on, but not very common. While some Muslims hold beliefs that it is against Islam to make images of Mohammed, others have more relaxed attitudes, and among Shia Muslims, such pictures are common, and much liked.<ref>[http://www.hf.uib.no/religion/popularikonografi/default_eng.html Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion (AHKR), University of Bergen.]</ref>

== The Angel Jibril ==
The being Jibril is not absolutely of necessity proven to be the same being as Gabriel. The name is not exactly the same. The Arabic name claimed as being a translation of Gabriel is Jibril, Jibrīl, Jibreel, Jabrilæ or Djibril ('''جبريل , جبرائيل''').

The word "angel" means "messenger".<ref>"messenger"—The Hebrew word is '''מלאך''' ''malak''; the Greek word is ''αγγλος agglos'' "anglos, angel" (singular), plural ''αγγλοι aggloi'' "angloi, angels".</ref> There are "angels of God" (John 1:51) and "angels of Satan" (Revelation 12:7-9), for example, [[Apollyon|Abaddon]] the Destroyer.<ref>Revelation 9:11; Exodus 12:23; Job 1:9-12; 2:4-7; 1 Chronicles 21:1, 15-16, 27.</ref> Compare 2 Corinthians 11:12-15; Ephesians 6:12; Acts 26:18; Colossians 1:13, and [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/2_corinthians/11-14.htm multiple commentaries on 2 Corinthians 11:14 "And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light."]<ref>See the following articles:
*[https://www.answering-islam.org/authors/shamoun/gabriel_partner.html "The Angel Gabriel—Allah's Other Divine Partner", Sam Shamoun - Answering Islam (answering-islam.org)].
*[https://www.answers.com/Q/How_does_Angel_Gabriel_related_to_Islam How does Angel Gabriel related to Islam? - Answers (answers.com)]
*[https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100401085254AA31Lt2 Who was angel Jibril, was he really Angel Gabriel or the Satan in disguised? - Yahoo!Answers (answers.com)]</ref> Some claim that Muhammad encountered a demon in the darkness of the cave Hira, who claimed to be the angel Jibril.<ref>[http://bigfaithministries.com/muhammads-hira-cave-horror-encounter/ Muhammad's Encounter With A Demon In Cave Hira (bigfaithministries.com)]. Citations from the Hadith.</ref><ref>[http://harvardhouse.com/possession_of_muhammad.htm Was Muhammad Possessed? From Muslim reports (harvardhouse.com)] —A comparison of the experience of Saul of Tarsus and the experience of Muhammad.</ref> Others claim that the Prophet was looking at a night sky full of stars, the night of '''''al-Qadr''''' "The Majesty" (Sura 97).<ref>[http://www.aaiil.org/text/hq/trans/ch97.shtml Sura 97—Al-Qadr "The Majesty"—English text.]</ref><ref>[http://islamichouseofisrael.com/ihoi-blog/muhammad-didnt-meet-gabriel-in-a-cave.html Muhammad didn't meet Gabriel in a Cave (islamichouseofisrael.com)]</ref>

Assuming a real spirit messenger, and that It did indeed deliver the oracles of the Qur'an to Muhammad, and is the being responsible for delivering the message, there is no guarantee that It was not lying to Muhammad. There is a huge difference between a [[falsehood]] believed to be truth, and a [[lie]] which is intended to [[Deceit|deceive]]. Compare [[Specious reasoning]].

The various [[Name of God|names of God]] in the Bible include: [[YHWH]], [[Elohim]], El, Shaddai, ‘Elyon, [[Adonai]], Ba’al ("Lord"), and Ẓeba’ot ("Sabbaoth").<ref>Hebrew lacked vowels, and the English translation of “Yhwh” often inserts vowels to become “Yahweh”.</ref> The name ''Al’lah'' is not one of them. And the closest one is not even close: '''אלהי''' ''elohe''.<ref>'''אלהי''' ''elohe''—see [http://biblehub.com/hebrew/410.htm '''''el'''''] and [http://biblehub.com/hebrew/430.htm '''''elohiym''''']).</ref>

Regarding the prophesied signs which came to pass, compare Deuteronomy 13:1-5 and [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/deuteronomy/13-2.htm multiple commentaries on Deuteronomy 13:2].

== Life of Muhammad==
Muhammad is claimed to be descended from [[Abraham]] through his son [[Ishmael]] who, under God's orders, was left in the Arabian desert with only a little food and water. The spot where this occurred is now called [[Mecca]]; today, over 3 million Muslims annually re-enact the frantic running of Ishmael's mother Hagar as she looked for water, in which Ishmael hit the ground with his foot causing water to flow forth. Still flowing today, the spring is known as the Well of [[Zam Zam]].

Muhammad was orphaned at the age of six, as his father Abdullah died before he was born and his mother, Aminah, died soon after. This left him with his grandfather Abdul Muttalib, who died when he was six. He was then raised by his uncle [[Abu Talib]] (son of Abdul Muttalib), a powerful man among the Quraysh tribe who loved Muhammad more than anyone. Muhammad grew up, never taking part part in pagan rituals. He despised the actions, and began a tradition of fasting in the caves of Mecca every annual pilgrimage; the pagans at the time believed in [[Allah]], and the [[Hajj]], from the times of Ishmael, but they later added more gods to Allah. Lexically speaking, Allah comes from the word Ilah in [[Arabic]], with the definite article Al placed in front, making it "Al-Llah", translating as "The One God". This is why [[Islam]] was tolerated from the start by most — Muhammad claimed not to have introduced a new God but instead spoke of the God of Abraham, Jesus, and Moses.

Muhammad was respected in Medina as he would frequently solve disputes. He was nicknamed Al-Amin, or The Truthful One, and was well loved by all. His followers claim he was never known to lie, cheat, or steal, though those were all common practices by the pagans of his time and continues to be so in Islam to the present day.<ref>[http://www.billionbibles.org/sharia/taqiyya.html Taqiyya]</ref> Everyone, including his enemies like [[Abu Jahl]], claimed his lineage to Ishmael and Abraham.

When he was about 40 years old, Muhammad's supposed early revelations from the Angel Jibril spoke of a need to return to the [[monotheism]] of [[Abraham]]; however, Muhammad was unsure of himself upon encountering what seemed to him to be the Angel [[Gabriel]] and rushed to his house, terrified. He told his wife [[Khadija]] of the events, and she assured him that God wouldn't let this happen to such a humble man. Khadija later went on to see her uncle, a Christian scholar who, after reviewing his religious texts (note that these texts are not the texts of today, as the Christians of Mecca and the Arabs were not Pauline or Roman Christians), claimed Muhammad was the next prophet. This as well as the Jews in Medina, who were also expecting a new prophet, albeit a prophet from the Jewish tribe; Muhammad's claimed prophethood was an unpleasant surprise to many of them and hence they rejected him. In this way Muhammad saw himself at an early age as reviving an ancient faith, a perceived correction to [[Christianity]] and [[Judaism]], and restoring his people to what he saw as their rightful position as the true founders and heirs of [[monotheism]]. In these revelations, submission to the will of their claimed god — [[Allah]] — was critical. Muhammad's fledgling religion continued to develop throughout his life, through periodic revelations often relating directly to events currently facing his new faith. At one point, he admitted to being possessed by the devil.<ref>http://crossmuslims.blogspot.com/2011/10/muhammad-and-satan_24.html —link contains a blogger warning</ref>

The faith caught on slowly, winning only a few converts in Mecca (the first being his wife, Khadija). In 622 A.D, under increased pressure and ostracism from elders in Mecca, Muhammad began the [[hijra]], an organized exodus of his followers from Mecca to the city of [[Medina]]. [[Muslims]] date the formation of their ideology to the ''hijra'' itself, even beginning their dating system at this point.

Muhammad was first introduced to the people of [[Medina]]; when frequent wars broke out between Jewish tribes and Arab tribes, Muhammad was sent for as a mediator between the two. Most Jews spoke highly of Muhammad, accepting him as the next Prophet, although some disliked that he was not of the descent of Moses or Bani Israel. When Muhammad came to Medina, most problems were resolved, and it was hailed as a success. One important battle which shed light on Muslim-Jewish tensions was [[The Battle of the Trench]]: Although there was a pact called [[The Constitution of Medina]], one that gave all religions freedom and protective status under the Muslims, from Muslims or invaders, one Jewish tribe ([[Bani Qurayza]]) did not help defend the city. However, they allowed in Huyayy ibn Akhtab, a man exiled by Muhammad because of a dispute between Bani Qurayza and Bani Nadir, who encouraged Bani Qurayza to attack the Muslims and help the invaders so Muhammad would be defeated once and for all. Their plot was found out, though, and the pact was broken. This incident led to the execution of approximately 700 Jewish men<ref>Guillaume, p. 461-464</ref> from the tribe.

The execution was described as follows by Ibn Ishaq:
<blockquote>
Then they surrendered, and the apostle confined them in Medina in the quarter of d. al-Harith, a woman of B. al-Najjar. Then the apostle went out to the market of Medina (which is still its market today) and dug trenches in it. Then he sent for them and struck off their heads in those trenches as they were brought out to him in batches. Among them was the enemy of Allah Huyayy b. Akhtab and Ka`b b. Asad their chief. There were 600 or 700 in all, though some put the figure as high as 800 or 900. As they were being taken out in batches to the apostle they asked Ka`b what he thought would be done with them. He replied, 'Will you never understand? Don't you see that the summoner never stops and those who are taken away do not return? By Allah it is death!' This went on until the apostle made an end of them. Huyayy was brought out wearing a flowered robe in which he had made holes about the size of the finger-tips in every part so that it should not be taken from him as spoil, with his hands bound to his neck by a rope. When he saw the apostle he said, 'By God, I do not blame myself for opposing you, but he who forsakes God will be forsaken.' Then he went to the men and said, 'God's command is right. A book and a decree, and massacre have been written against the Sons of Israel.' Then he sat down and his head was struck off.<ref>Guillaume, p. 461-464</ref>
</blockquote>

There were eight men in the desert who were sick, so he told them that if they want their help, convert. So after he prescribed them camel milk and camel urine, they became apostates and got up next day in the early morning to kill the shepherd and escape with the camels. Muhammad sent an armed party to 20 men to get them back. So Muhammad got his sword, cut off their hands and feet then gouged their eyes and left them in the desert to die.<ref>[http://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/cruelty.htm Muhammad's Excessive Cruelty, Sam Shamoun]</ref>

In 629 A.D. Muhammad and his followers attacked Khaybar, a Jewish stronghold and slaughtered almost everyone in the tribe which included men, women and children. Afterwards, a Jewish woman invites Muhammad and his companions for dinner and they gladly accept in a gullible fashion, even though they just slaughtered her entire family. She then proceeded to serve them lamb. Once they started chowing down, one of Muhammad's companions, who had consumed some of the lamb, died due to it being poisoned in which point Muhammad spat his piece of lamb out. By then it was too late, since Muhammad would go on to suffer in agonizing pain where his companions would have to carry him around until he died a few years later being beside Aisha, his child bride. The Jewish woman said that the poison was a test of Muhammad's prophet hood in which he did not pass, proving that he was a false prophet. She was killed by Muhammad's followers soon after.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iU5CAzMGVA Remember Khaybar, David Wood]</ref>

There was a 90 year old tribal chief that criticized him, so he asked his henchmen to take for him her daughter and grandson and kill the men in her family. They grabbed her to place her between two camels facing each other back to back, and tied her legs with ropes to both camels and beat them. It can be found in the 16 minute YouTube film by a Coptic Christian that [[Barack Obama]] and [[Hillary Clinton]] accused of provoking the September 11, 2012 [[Benghazi Attack]].<ref>http://crossmuslims.blogspot.com/2012/10/innocence-of-muslims-dissected.html —link contains a blogger warning</ref>

== After Muhammad's death ==
Muhammad's death at an early age caused the splintering of his ideology into new subdivisions, over the question of succession. The groups called themselves the [[Sunnis]] and the [[Shiite|Shi'as]]. Many attribute this split to the high degree to which authority was centered in the powerful character of Muhammad himself: without his powerful personality, the movement could not survive intact.,<ref>[[Bernard Lewis]], ''What Went Wrong''</ref> however this depiction is not accurate in some lights. The [[Shi'as]] came into the picture much later than the death of Muhammad, and were first a nuisance group thought to be started by a Jew by the name of [[Abdullah ibn Saba]] who was burned at the stake by [[Abu Bakr]] for proclaiming [[Ali]] was God. Note that Ali disagreed with the punishment, because fire is a punishment only for Allah.

The failure or splintering of movements, such as personality cults, built around a charismatic leader is a recurring sociological problem, often studied by psychologists, and referred to as the problem of the [[routinization of charisma]].<ref>Maximillian Weber, ''Theory of Social and Economic Organization,'' in the chapter "The Nature of Charismatic Authority and its Routinization," see also Len Oakes, "Prophetic Charisma: The Psychology of Revolutionary Religious Personalities"</ref>

== Obama's opinion about presenting Muhammad in a non-favorable light ==
On September 25, 2012, in his address to [[United Nations General Assembly]], [[Barack Hussein Obama]] said that "'''The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam'''."<ref>FOX News: [https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/09/25/transcript-obama-address-to-un-general-assembly/ Transcript: Obama address to U.N. General Assembly] (September 25, 2012)</ref> This outrageous comment, yet another evidence that Barack Hussein Obama is almost certainly [[Obama's Religion|of Islamic heritage]], was predictably ignored by the [[liberal media]], but rightly highlighted by Conservative commentators.<ref>FOX News: [https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/09/26/media-ignore-obama-attack-on-those-who-slander-prophet-islam/ Media ignore Obama attack on ‘those who slander the Prophet of Islam’] (September 26, 2012)</ref> Obama didnt mention Muhammad racism against black people, who call Ethiopians "Raisin head",<ref>http://www.raceandhistory.com/cgi-bin/forum/webbbs_config.pl?md=read;id=554</ref> and portraying Satan as Black man.<ref>http://www.maxshimbaministries.com/2013/07/satan-looks-like-nabtal-sturdy-black.html</ref> without mention that he was major black slaves owner.<ref>[https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/07/will-mosques-next-muhammed-owned-several-slaves-four-slaves-black-involved-slave-trade/ Muhammed Owned Several Slaves, Four of his Slaves Were Black and He Was Involved in Slave Trade]</ref>

==See also==
*[[Slave ownership by Muhammad]]
*[[Islam]]
*[[Taqiyya]]/[[Taquiyyeh]]
*[[Muhammad cartoons controversy]]
*[[Abbas]]
*[[Umm Qirfa]]

== References ==
<references/>

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180123164729/http://wikiislam.net/wiki/List_of_Killings_Ordered_or_Supported_by_Muhammad List of Killings Ordered or Supported by Muhammad]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20181011062907/http://www.hirhome.com/islam/art.htm Muhammad's massacre of the Jewish tribe Banu Qurayzah]
* [http://youtu.be/FXfZWJTZsrw The Killing of Umm Qirfa by Muhammad]
* [https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/muhammad/qurayza.aspx The Myth: Muhammad Lived at Peace with the Jews Part 3: The Banu Qurayza (thereligonofpeace.com)]
* [https://www.raymondibrahim.com/2012/05/01/islamic-death-sex-in-context/ "Islamic ‘Death-Sex’ in Context" by Raymond Ibrahim - Published in ''FrontPage Magazine'']
* [http://biblicalmissiology.org/2017/04/10/is-allah-the-god-of-the-bible/ Is Allah the God of the Bible?, by Mike Tisdell (biblicalmissiology.org)] —''The writer says they cannot be the same''.
* [https://carm.org/god-islam-christianity-same Is Allah, the God of Islam, the same as the Yahweh the God of the Bible?, by Matt Slick - CARM Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry (carm.org)] —''Matt Slick points out what he calls "a gross error" in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 841, “ 'The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these '''profess''' to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day.' "''. (''boldface emphasis added'')
*[http://scborromeo.org/ccc/p123a9p3.htm#839 Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 839-870 (scborromeo.org)] —''access to CCC paragraph 841 in full context''. (See [[Quoting out of context]].)

[[Category:Islam]]
[[Category:Muslims]]
[[Category:Terrorists]]
[[Category:Pedophiles]]
[[Category:Mass Murderers]]
[[Category:Anti-Judaism]]
[[Category:Racists]]
[[Category:Sexual Immorality]]
[[Category:Anti-Christianity]]

Islam

2021-06-29T15:19:03Z

Andrewlee:

[[Image:Quran.jpg|thumb|right|Pages from the [[Koran]], the foundational text of the Islamic ideology, dictated by a single 7th-century author who claimed to have been inspired by a supernatural being whom Muslims call 'Allah'. If the Constitution is the highest law of the United States, then the Koran is the highest law of Islam.]]

[[Image:Mohammad.jpg|thumb|right|[[Muhammad]], the creator of Islam. Pictorial representations of Muhammad is considered making a graven image of a false god in Islam.]]
'''Islam''' or '''Mohammedanism''' is a major world [[Political|socio-political]] system<ref>[http://www.newenglishreview.org/custpage.cfm/frm/100100/sec_id/100100 Why Islam is Not a Religion], by Rebecca Bynum (Nov. 2011) Speech delivered October 18th to ACT! for America Chapter in Memphis Tennessee</ref> based on the teachings of [[Muhammad]] (sometimes Mohammed), a seventh-century [[Arab]]. Muhammad claimed descent from [[Ishmael]], the son of [[Abraham]]. Muhammad claimed to have received revelations from Allah, the entity which adherents of Islam claim to resemble the [[God]] of [[Judaism]] and [[Christianity]], via the archangel Gabriel, which were written in the [[Koran]] – thus forming the core teachings of Islam.

The Koran's singular authorship offers no corroborating evidence, as the four Gospels do for example, of testimony of independent eyewitness accounts to its claim of divine inspiration as the Mosaic Law requires,<ref>Dueteronomy 19:15 ''By the testimony of two is a matter established''. The testimony of one - Mohammad - is insufficient to convict the human race, or infidels, of sin, ''per the Law of Moses'' or the Koran itself which claims descent.</ref> from which the Koran's author borrowed selectively.

==Overview==
[[File:World Muslim Population Pew Forum.png|thumb|The Muslim population of the world map according to the Pew Forum 2009 report.]]
The word "Islam"<ref>Arabic الإسلام‎‎, specifically referring to submission to Allah</ref> means "submission" or "surrender" in [[Arabic language|Arabic]]. Islam, as originally designed in the Koran, presents itself as an "Abrahamic faith" and has [[Moses]] in it,<ref>Brannon Wheeler. Moses in the Koran and Islamic Exegesis. Routledge, 2002.</ref> as well as [[Jesus]] as a prophet in Islam,<ref>Muhammad Ata ur-Rahim, Ahmad Thomson. ''Jesus: Prophet of Islam''. TTQ, INC., 2003.</ref> and it specifically denies Jesus's divine nature.

<blockquote>
The world’s Islamic population is expected to increase by about 35% in the next 20 years, rising from 1.6 billion in 2010 to 2.2 billion by 2030, according to new population projections by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life. In the United States, for example, the population projections show the number of Muslims more than doubling over the next two decades, rising from 2.6 million in 2010 to 6.2 million in 2030.<ref>[http://www.pewforum.org/2011/01/27/the-future-of-the-global-muslim-population/ The Future of the Global Muslim Population.]</ref>
</blockquote>

Islam has been criticized for some time because of its demanding of strict submissiveness (especially of women), its suppression and violations of human rights (also including those of women), and its predisposition to being violent toward those of true religious faiths and attacking those faiths deemed a threat to Islam. There have been over 23,000 terrorist attacks committed by adherents of Islam since [[September 11, 2001 attacks|the Islamic terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001]].<ref>http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/</ref> A more recent strain of Islam has combined European totalitarianism and a virulent [[anti-Semitism]]. This version is called [[Jihadism#Lesser jihad|lesser jihad]], [[Islamism]], radical Islam, or militant Islam. Without the historic institution of the Caliph, this form degenerates into stateless terrorist activity that strikes at the heart of civilized man. Some who identify as Muslim have denounced the violent jihadism while others remain silent. Some Muslims and non-Muslims theorize that mainstream Islam has become corrupted over the years that there needs to be an [[Islamic Reformation]] similar to that of the [[Protestant Reformation]].<ref>Michaelle Browers, Charles Kurzman. An Islamic Reformation? Lexington Books, 2004.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.danielpipes.org/954/distinguishing-between-islam-and-islamism|title=Distinguishing between Islam and Islamism|author=Daniel Pipes|date=June 30, 1998}}</ref> The Reformation movements were costly and bloody for well over a century.
[[Image:Mecca.jpg|thumb|left|[[Mecca]], one of the holy cities of Islam.]]
There are small groups of largely Westernized Muslims who publicly reject Islamism. Such moderate Muslim conservatives are in the [[Republican Party]], known as the [[Muslim Republicans]].<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> One of America's Founding Fathers, [[Thomas Jefferson]], who was a religious [[libertarian]], declared: "''freedom for the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and the Mohammedan, the Hindu and infidel of every denomination''."<ref>John A. Garraty, Story of America Beginnings to 1877, (1992) Holt, Rinehart and Winston, pg 706.</ref>

Issues with Islam arose in the 2012 U.S. presidential campaign. Republican presidential candidate [[Mitt Romney]] said that "''Radical, violent Islamists pose a threat to Americans and others around the world.''" and that "''they take a very different view of Islam than the Muslims I know.''" Romney said that when he lived in Detroit he knew Muslims, as Detroit has a large Muslim population, and says "''They are peace-loving and America-loving individuals. I believe that very sincerely. I believe people of the Islamic faith do not have to subscribe to the idea of radical, violent jihadism.''<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> Former Republican presidential nominee candidate [[Ron Paul]], a libertarian conservative, says that America should not fear Islam and said that America should just embrace people of all faiths.<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref> American conservative author Margaret Hoover believes that the Republican Party needs to recognize Muslim Republicans, noting an example of Muslim Republican youth Suhail Khan who she describes as "''one of thousands of Muslim Americans who work to promote Christian-Muslim understanding''".<ref>Margaret Hoover, ''American Individualism: How a New Generation of Conservatives Can Save the Republican Party'', Random House Digital, Inc., 2011, pg 202.</ref> Candidates for the Republican nomination like [[Newt Gingrich]] and [[Rick Santorum]] strongly criticized Islamic extremism.<ref>http://www.muslimrepublicans.net/</ref>

[[Multiculturalism|Multiculturalists]] ignore or minimize violence in the history of Islam and exaggerate Christian atrocities to advance a [[moral equivalence]]. Proponents of this view often cite the [[Crusades|Great Crusades]]--an unsuccessful attempt by Western Christians to retake parts of the [[Byzantine Empire]] that had been conquered by Islamic armies--and various religious wars which were later fought in Europe between branches of Christianity. However, they brand critics of Islam "racists" (even though Islam is not a "race") and "[[Islamophobia|Islamophobes]]" (a smear term invented for the purpose of censoring and silencing legitimate criticism of Islam) for exposing today's threats by [[jihadism|jihadists]].<ref>http://www.bcbsr.com/topics/charity.html</ref>

A follower of Islam is called a "[[Muslim]]" (rarely "Moslem"), a term which means "one who submits (to Allah)." The older terms "Mohammedan" and "Muhammedan" ("follower of Muhammad"), have fallen out of use.<ref>Additional archaic terms for Muslims include "Hagarene", "Musselman", and "Saracen." Saracen as a term for Muslims was limited to the Crusades era, although it makes frequent re-appearances in pre-modern polemics. Hagarene was a more common term in pre-modern works, as it denotes the Biblical connection of Hagar, the mother of Ishmael, who is claimed to be a patriarch of Islam. Additional names for Muslims in pre-modern and Medieval works are generally derived from misspellings.</ref>

Because of its history of terrorism, mass murder and suicide attacks, Islam, and those who adhere to it, are sometimes generally perceived as having no regard toward human life.<ref>[https://www.conservativenewsandviews.com/2017/07/09/human/permanent-rage-islam/ The Permanent Rage of Islam] at Conservative News and Views</ref>

==Theology==
[[File:Kaaba.jpg|thumb|Masjid al-Haram, the holiest site in Islam.]]

There are no clergy, but there are religious teachers, or [[Imam]]s, who have their followings. All Muslims are supposed to follow the teachings of Muhammad, whom they believe to be Allah's<ref>Arabic الله</ref> last and greatest [[prophet]] (although Jesus, in Matthew 7:15-20, warned "Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves. You will recognize them by their fruit. Grapes are not gathered from thorns or figs from thistles, are they? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree is not able to bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree to bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will recognize them by their fruit", which serves to explicitly describe Muhammad and such like him). The teachings of Muhammad are transmitted through the [[Koran]], the Hadith, and the Sunnah. The Sunnah is a general term for "the life and doings of the Prophet", which all Muslims are called on to replicate. Islam claims that the Archangel [[Gabriel]] appeared to Muhammad in a cave reciting verbatim a revelation from Allah. The first word that Gabriel says to Muhammad is "Iqra" or "Recite/Proclaim", which is found in the 96th Sura of the Koran.

Muslims believe that Allah revealed the Koran to Muhammad. The key miracle of Islam comes from the historical condition of the illiterate and uneducated Muhammad, as the Koran is composed in an erudite and complex form of Arabic prose and poetry.<ref>Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created- Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,- He Who taught (the use of) the pen,- Taught man that which he knew not.(Surah 96:1-5)</ref> The Koran was not written down in a systematic fashion until a decade after Muhammad died, preferable transmission being through oral recitation. The Koran is claimed by Muslims to be the pure and holy word of Allah, uncreated and eternal. In Islamic belief, the term uncreated is very important, as it implies that there is no author for the Koran, only the delivering of the word to Muhammad who delivered it to the Sahab and the Salaf (The Companions and the Pure), who delivered it to the scribe delegated to record it in the reign of the Caliph Uthman bin Affan.

Islam teaches fundamental contradictions about the nature of Allah. Allah is said to be all-powerful, yet impotent to have a son (Surah 6:100-101). The idea of Allah having offspring is mocked,<ref>"Limitless is He is His glory, and sublimely exalted above anything that men may devise by way of definition: the Originator of the heavens and the earth! How could it be that He should have a child without there ever having been a mate for Him - since it is He who has created everything, and He alone knows everything?" - Surah 6:100-101.</ref> and this limitation of his power differentiates Allah from the Christian God. Allah is a very angry god who loves only those who swear allegiance to him, and hates non-believers. To serve Allah is to hate Allah's enemies with the same divine hatred that Allah hates non-believers (Surah 5:54). This stands in direct contrast to John 3:16.

In Islamic theology, Allah, the alleged maker of heaven and earth (Surah 6:100), is impotent to have a son (Surah 6:101). Human beings, with the ability to reproduce themselves, possess powers Allah is incapable of.

===Divisions within Islam===
Uthman was assassinated in 656 A.D. by soldiers who then installed Ali ibn Abu Talib, Muhammad's son-in-law, as [[Caliph]]. Ali's followers believed Muhammad had chosen Ali to be Muhammad's heir, and had disagreed with the selections of Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman as Caliphs. Ali's claim to the position was challenged by Muawiyah, a kinsman of the murdered Uthman. Five years later, Ali was assassinated by Kharjites, dissidents who broke away from the main body of Islam because they rejected Ali's accepting arbitration to resolve his leadership dispute with Muawiyah. Ali's supporters, or the Shiah al-Ali (or Shiat Ali, partisans of Ali) believed that Ali was the true Caliph and was, in part, divinely inspired. Ali's sons, Hassan and Husayn followed as [[Shia]] Caliphs, Hassan dying in 669 or 670 A.D., possibly by poisoning, and Husayn slain by soldiers of his rival, the [[Sunni]] Caliph Yazid, in 680 A.D.

The Shia Islamic community has divided further as followers coalesced around several of Ali's descendants or successors, called [[Imam]]s. The "twelvers," predominant in Iran, believe the twelfth Imam is in hiding and will reveal himself just before judgment day. Ismailis rejected the seventh Imam and practice a spirituality that seeks hidden meaning in scripture. Ismailis ruled much of [[North Africa]] as the [[Fatimid Dynasty]] of [[Egypt]] in the tenth through the twelfth centuries, and today are found primarily in [[Pakistan]], [[Afghanistan]], and [[India]]. The Sunni majority reject the premise that men can be divine, including Muhammad, Ali, or Jesus, and did not accept any of the Imams who followed Ali. Sunnis remain more committed to traditions and less inclined to accept Shia mysticism. Today, about 15% of the world's Muslims are Shia and 85% are orthodox Sunni.

There are other factions within Islam. Sufis, a name possibly derived from the wool garments they wear, developed around mystical practices and trance-induced revelations. Sufis are found today in [[Turkey]], [[Syria]], and parts of [[Africa]]. One of the most famous modern followers of Sufism was American professional boxer [[Muhammad Ali]] in his later years. Other movements have taken reform tracks, such as the Unitarians of [[Saudi Arabia]], also called [[Wahhabi]]s after their 18th-century reformist founder Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. The conservative Wahhabis are found today in Saudi Arabia and [[Qatar]]. Today the Wahhabi line has a tendency to produce extremists, such as [[Osama Bin Laden]]. Some critics would argue that the [[Taliban]] of Afghanistan took conservative reform to an extreme. Other sects or break-away groups include, among others, the Alawis found in Syria and Turkey, the [[Druze]] in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Israel, the Ibadhis (Kharjites) in Oman and Africa, the Ahmadiya of Pakistan, and the Zaydis of Yemen.

==Origins==
Like Christianity and Judaism, Islam originated in the Middle East. Islam claims to trace its roots back to Abraham through his son Ishmael. Muslims do not believe that Muhammad was the founder of Islam, rather they claim that he restored the original faith of Abraham and the prophets that followed as recorded in the lost books of the Tawrat and Injil.

Based upon this belief, the [[Bible]], both the [[Old Testament|Old]] and [[New Testament]]s, is claimed by adherents of Islam to have become corrupted through the [[Bible translations|translations and misinterpretations]] accumulated over several millennia. The criticism of the [[Torah]] centers around the reconstruction of the existing Biblical text required after the "[[Babylon]]ian captivity". The criticism of the New Testament centers in the many disputed gnostic texts which contradict the orthodox biblical canon. Interestingly, Islamic jurisprudence accepts that the Injil was complete and whole up until the revelation of Muhammad. Therefore, there is some inconsistency in the claims made against the New Testament. For more information, see [[The Bible versus the Qur'an|The Bible versus the Koran]].

Muhammad spent many years attempting to unite disparate polytheistic Arab tribes in the power vacuum created by the fall of the [[Roman Empire]] through recitations of his epic poem, which borrowed heavily from Hebrew scriptures and dietary laws, meeting with only limited success. He was eventually driven out of Mecca by the powers that be for challenging state authority, an event known as the ''Hijra'' or "Flight from Mecca" which marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar.

Eventually Muhammad was summoned back to Mecca by a faction of sympathizers, mainly tribal family members, as political chaos engulfed the city. Muhammad conquered the city after a prolonged siege with attacks on the civilian population and hundreds of beheadings to any who refused to accept his claims to a divine mission of carrying out the will of Allah. The doctrine of abrogation (''nashk'') in Islamic scholarship teaches that the later instructions of Mohammad supersede any earlier contradictory verses in the Koran.<ref>http://www.quranicstudies.com/books/abrogation-in-the-quran-and-islamic-law/</ref> Hence was born political Islam,<ref>https://www.politicalislam.com/abrogation-and-the-koran/</ref> a doctrine of war, conquest, and vengeance, over any earlier utterances which teach Islam a religion of peace. Peace only exists in Islam insofar as all Islam's enemies are subjugated.

==Terminology==
Additional archaic terms for Muslims include, but are not limited to, "Hagarene" and "Saracen." The term Hagarene was more common in post-crusade Europe as it made specific reference to the Biblical mother of Ishmael. In Islam, Ishmael plays an analogous theological role to Isaac. Muslims do not use it today to avoid confusing worship of [[Muhammad]] with worship of [[Allah]].<ref>Schimmel, (1992)</ref>

==Islamic Guidance==
During his lifetime, Muhammad's companions learned and later transcribed the verses (surrahs) of the Koran as Muhammad spoke them. In Islam, the teachings of Mohammed were believed to be direct divine revelation from Allah.

The third Caliph, Uthman, collected and codified the various versions of the surrahs into one written Koran that became the standard Arabic text used by the world's Muslims today. The Koran is longer than the Bible and written in general order of longest chapters to shortest rather than in any order of when they were spoken, sometimes making the work appear to be confusing. In all there are 114 chapters. Most of the later recorded sayings of Mohammed, which were also more warlike, actually appear earlier in the text. Present-day Muslims look first to the Koran as a guide to life, then to the [[Sunnah]], or the way of the Prophet (his life as an example for others) as recorded by his early companions, and then to the [[Hadith]], a collection of the Prophet's sayings, comments, advice, and descriptions.

Frequently, Muslims disagreed over how to interpret certain passages in the Qur'an, the Sunnah, or the Hadith in their search for the ideal life and perfect path to heaven. From these interpretations Sunni Muslims developed four schools of law, or interpretations of law, named after their founders or early leaders: the Hanbali, considered the most strict school and predominant today in Saudi Arabia; Shafi, the school of widest acceptance, found in Egypt, parts of Palestine-Syria, south Arabia, and the Far East; Maliki, prevalent in North Africa, Sudan, and Nigeria; and Hanafi, considered the most moderate school, predominant in Ottoman Turkey and today found primarily on the Levant and Indian subcontinent. Frequently, Islamic countries have two separate legal systems, one for civil, criminal, or commercial law, and a second, and separate, system for religious law. Religious courts and their judges (qadis) might handle issues dealing with marriage, divorce, child custody, inheritance, religious education, charitable or religious property (Waqf), or family matters. Among Middle Eastern countries, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen have Shariah courts serving alongside their secular courts or have adopted [[Sharia]]h (Islamic law) as the basis of their legal systems.

===Five Pillars of Islam===
*'''[[Shahadah]] (Profession of Faith)''' -The Shahadah is the Muslim profession of faith. 'ašhadu 'al-lā ilāha illā-llāhu wa 'ašhadu 'anna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh, a loose English translation reads "''There is none worthy of worship except Allah, and [[Muhammad]] is the messenger of Allah''" This testament can be seen as the foundation of all of the other tenets of Islam and swears off the divinity of Christ. For the Christian believer, the Shahada is essentially an [[oath]] renouncing the divinity of [[Christ]], "But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father who is in heaven." (Matt 10:33).

*'''[[Salat]] (Ritual Prayer)''' -All Muslims are required to pray to Allah five times each day while facing [[Mecca]]. Praying six times a day is considered willful disobedience to Allah, ''per shariah law'', an act punishable by death.<ref>The example is used by Prof. Quinten Wiktorowitz of an extremist considered by Muslim "moderates" as one who loves Allah so much he defies Allah's instructions. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10576100500497004</ref><ref>[https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://archives.cerium.ca/IMG/pdf/WIKTOROWICZ_2006_Anatomy_of_the_Salafi_Movement.pdf&ved=0ahUKEwiXlY7EttfTAhVF02MKHRExBFwQFggcMAA&usg=AFQjCNH4tKyamYaRwVVY8j23A0VjTOOWJg&sig2=zIzwl9aecd3zpGkLsveV0g "Despite the success of the Prophet’s mission and the growth of Islam, Salafis believe human desires continue to grip Muslims and challenge the purity of the message. In this view, there is an eternal temptation to manipulate and distort the religion through innovation. Although nefarious interests often drive deviancy, it can also result from good intentions. Muslims who pray more than the explicitly proscribed five times a day, for example, are likely motivated by love for God. They are, however, still engaged in innovation because they are inventing new practices to fulfill a human desire." p.4 pdf]</ref>

*'''Zakat (Charity)''' Zakat is often described as charitable giving. Able Muslims must donate to the poor based on the wealth one has accumulated. In current usage it is interpreted as 2.5% of [[net worth]] held for a full lunar year. However, funding violent jihad by wealthy Muslims has been ruled a form of ''zakat'' by Islamic scholars, a requirement to fulfill their Islamic duty under the five pillars. There exists the poor, unemployed, and unemployable jihadis, and the ignorant (''jahiliyya'') infidel masses in need if Islamic enlightening, hence funding terrorism is considered charitable work.

*'''Sawm (Fasting)''' All able-bodied Muslims (children, pregnant women, the elderly, and the ill are exempt) must not eat during the daylight hours of the entire month of [[Ramadan]]. According to Muslims, this purifies the body and soul. Although Muslims and their mainstream media surrogates refer to it as a "fast," this in no way aligns with traditional Christian and Judaic concepts of fasting, and indeed violates the basic concept. Torturing oneself in an outward display of [[piety]] is deemed hypocritcal by the [[monotheist]]ic traditions of Christianity and Judaism. Some Islamic sects allow military, police and emergency services personnel to receive an exemption from fasting from an imam, on the grounds that their work supports the community or national good.

*'''Hajj (Pilgrimage)''' All able-bodied Muslims must make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lives. Many without funds for a round trip never made it back, having been sold off in the slave auction market place at [[Taif]].<ref>https://youtu.be/emRVkisdbhc</ref>

===Sharia===
[[Image:StarCresent.png|thumb|right|220px|The Star and Crescent is a symbol of Islam. It is featured in the national flag of [[Algeria]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Malaysia]], [[Tunisia]], [[Uzbekistan]], [[Mauritania]], [[Pakistan]], and [[Turkey]], amongst others]]
[[Sharia]] is the body of Islamic law. The term means "way" or "path"; it is the legal framework within which public and some private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Islamic principles of jurisprudence. It is not actually part of the canonical Koran; that is to say, it is not believed to be the direct word of Allah by Muslims, but rather the interpretation of it.

Sharia deals with many aspects of day-to-day life, including politics, economics, banking, business law, contract law, sexuality, marriage, divorce, and social issues. Most Islamic scholars regard Sharia as the body of precedent and legal theory established during the early stages of the Islamic Empire, though a few scholars also believe contemporary legal cases can and should shape the law, though such thinkers may be subject to ridicule and even threats from Islamists and their liberal allies.

Sharia law proscribes often brutal punishments for acts, that, in the western world, are relatively minor. For example, under sharia law, turning away from Islam is punishable by death,<ref>[http://www.ntpi.org/html/whyoppose.html]</ref> while women found guilty of adultery is punishable by stoning to death, which often includes many rape victims, as Sharia courts often regard a rape victim as guilty of adultery unless she can provide four witnesses to the act of rape.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6148590.stm</ref> In cases involving the death penalty of corporal punishment, methods of carrying out the punishment are often barbaric, and include public beheading, chopping off of the hand, and flogging.<ref>http://saudiwoman.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/punishment-in-saudi-arabia/</ref> Many Islamic groups have been attempting to have Shariah courts set up in European countries, initially to rule over civil cases between Muslims in Europe.<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,422661,00.html</ref>

The need by Islam's adherents to add to and retain followers in its ideology through Sharia, deceit, force and intimidation, particularly through threats of death against those who leave Islam or who levy legitimate criticism against it for its barbaric ways and history, would indicate that overall, Islam is a weak ideology that would not withstand criticism or exposure of the truth of its ways and history. To facilitate retaining its membership and to keep the truth about Islam under wraps, its adherents have formed convenient alliances with sympathetic liberals in politics, academia, the courts, the mainstream media and Hollywood to deceive the public about Islam and what it really is, as well as to censor and silence critics of Islam through ridicule, false accusations of "racism", "hate speech" and "Islamophobia" and the illegal use of the legal system to punish critics.<ref>[http://nationalpost.com/news/weaponization-of-free-speech-prompts-talk-of-a-new-hate-law?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NP_Top_Stories+%28National+Post+-+Top+Stories%29 "Weaponization" of free speech prompts talk of a new hate law] at the ''National Post''</ref>

===Ulemah ===
Sunni Islam does not have a priesthood or clerical hierarchy to conduct religious services or interpret scripture, but it does have prayer leaders, called Imams, and religious scholars, called Ulemah,<ref>"Umma and ulemah" would be roughly equivalent to "laity and clergy".</ref> who often are educated men familiar with the Koran and able to offer commentaries on Koranic verses. Sunni Muslims also respect the teachings and interpretations of scholars, judges, and academics who may interpret laws, write treatises on Sharia (religious law) or Hadith, and issue Fatwas, religious rulings or declarations intended to enlighten or guide Muslims. These religious scholars issue legal rulings on various questions in contemporary life, such as the use of toilet paper which Islamic law previously forbade,<ref>https://nypost.com/2015/04/08/muslims-can-now-use-toilet-paper-turkeys-top-religious-authority/</ref> transgenderism,<ref>https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-transgender/pakistani-clerics-declare-transgender-marriages-legal-under-islamic-law-idUSKCN0ZD1IZ</ref> conjugal relations in marriage during the menstrual cycle<ref>http://aliftaa.jo/QuestionEn.aspx?QuestionId=2667#.YGOXVtKSncs</ref> or use of bug zappers.<ref>https://www.islamweb.net/en/fatwa/198619/killing-insects-with-electric-insect-killer</ref>

Shia Islam has a hierarchy that resembles a priesthood. Mullahs are prayer leaders, but usually do not interpret religious law. Mujtahids are religious scholars who may interpret law or passages from the Koran or Hadith. The lower order of Mujtahids are called Hojjatolislam. Ayat Allah (literally sign of Allah, also Ayatollah) is a higher order of Mujtahid who may issue Fatwas, or religious edicts, in addition to leading Islamic schools, interpreting religious law and the Koran, and offering sermons or discourses on proper Islamic behavior.

== Converts to Islam ==
People who turn to Islam from legitimate religions or from nontheism commit ideologically motivated crimes such as [[jihadism|jihadist]] [[terrorism]], [[hate speech]], [[discrimination]], and [[fraud]]: [http://web.archive.org/web/20190327113206/https://wikiislam.net/wiki/Converts_to_Islam A list of converts to Islam]. As has been witnessed many times, people who turn to Islam become radicalized and divide the world into two groups: Muslims ("people who surrender to Allah") and non-Muslims (''kafir''s, i.e. people who think differently).

==Today==
[[File:2012 Sydney protest.jpg|thumb|Some non-Muslims feel threatened by the unforgiving nature of the ideology of Islam.]]
Islam is the world's largest socio-political ideology, with over 1.6 billion followers, and is claimed to be the fastest-growing ideology in America.<ref>[http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/the-fastest-growing-religion-in-america-is-islam]</ref> This rapid growth is mainly due to conversions, high birth rates, and convenient redefinitions of the term "Muslim". Conversions to Christianity (from ''any'' faith or lack thereof) outnumber those to Islam, but are keeping up with the birthrate discrepancy.<ref>[http://www.bible.ca/global-religion-statistics-world-christian-encyclopedia.htm World Christian Encyclopedia]</ref><ref>[http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles6/AlJazeerahAfrica.php Translation of AL-Jazeerah interview between Maher Abdallah and Shiekh Ahmed Katani]</ref>

Islamic doctrine, including what is taught in [[North America]], teaches that 1 John 4:9, "God is love", is a false doctrine.<ref>http://www.arabicbible.com/for-christians/1313-christians-common-questions-about-islam.html?start=2</ref> The doctrine of ''Al-Wala wal-Bara'' teaches true faith is measured in sharing Allah's hatred of the ''kufr'', non-believers, or infidels.<ref>http://www.meforum.org/3545/islam-hatred-non-muslim</ref> In other words, Islamic doctrine teaches that Allah hates his own creation, sinful man, which John 3:16 teaches, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son." ''Al-Wala wal-Bara'', or divine hatred, is used to justify terrorist attacks. The believing Muslim feels he is carrying out Allah's will in killing Allah's enemies. Rather than the [[atonement|atoning]] blood of Jesus for sinful man, the murder of infidels and attacks on their societal institutions and national governments is aimed at blotting out evil in the world.

Even Orthodox Judaism teaches that Jehovah loves sinners. Psalm 138:8, for example, says, "The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands."

[[Indonesia]] has the largest Islamic population in the world.

=== Future of Islam in Europe and the desecularization of Europe ===
[[File:Europe pol 2004.jpg|thumbnail|right|325px|In 2014, the Pew Research Forum indicated that [[Europe]] will go from 11% of the world's population to 7% of the world's population by 2050.<ref>[https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/02/03/10-projections-for-the-global-population-in-2050/ 10 projections for the global population in 2050] By Rakesh Kochhar, Pew Research Forum, February 3, 2014</ref>]]
See also: [[Atheism vs. Islam]] and [[Secular Europe]]
In April 2010, Eric Kaufmann indicated concerning the future of Islam in Europe:
{{cquote|I address this in some detail in the book, as well is in a [http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/features/europes-muslim-future recent article in the April issue of Prospect magazine] here in Britain. The short answer is that I don’t foresee a Muslim-majority Europe in this century or in the next. Why? Mainly because Muslim birthrates are plunging both in Europe and the Muslim world. Already, Iran, Tunisia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and several other Muslim countries have replacement-level fertility or below. In the UK, Bangladeshi and Pakistani fertility has halved in a generation and is now under 3 children per woman. This means their long-term growth will begin to tail off. The other part of the equation is the rise of non-Muslim immigrant groups (African and West Indian Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and other Eastern faiths) who are also increasing and therefore making Europe more plural and, in the process, rendering it harder for Muslims to increase their share of the population.

That said, Muslim membership retention and in-group marriage is exceptionally high (over 90 per cent) and they are a much younger population than the host society. So they are on course for steady growth. My colleagues and I expect their fertility to fall to host levels by 2030, but they will still make up 5-15 per cent of most West European countries by 2050 and 10-25 per cent by 2100. This is a major change from the 2-6 per cent levels of today<ref>[http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/shall_the_religious_inherit_the_earth/#sthash.nE0JGi2Y.dpuf ''Shall the religious inherit the earth?''], 2010 Interview with [[Eric Kaufmann]] by MercatorNet</ref>}}

Due to the growing number of Muslims moving into secular Europe/[[Western World]] and the ideological differences between the [[atheist worldview]] and Islam, there has been growing tension between [[atheism|atheists]]/secularists and Muslims - particularly between [[Militant atheism|militant atheists]] and militant Islam.

The [[New Atheism|New Atheists]] [[Richard Dawkins]], [[Sam Harris]] and the late [[Christopher Hitchens]] have received multiple accusations of engaging in "[[Islamophobia|Islamophobic]]" behavior.<ref>
*[https://www.salon.com/2013/03/30/dawkins_harris_hitchens_new_atheists_flirt_with_islamophobia/ Dawkins, Harris, Hitchens: New Atheists flirt with Islamophobia] by Nathan Lean, ''Salon'', March 30, 2013
*[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/apr/03/sam-harris-muslim-animus Sam Harris, the New Atheists, and anti-Muslim animus] by Glenn Greenwald, ''The Guardian'', April 3, 2013</ref> On the other hand, defenders of atheist criticisms of Islam/Muslims indicated that New Atheists should be able to criticize Islam without being accused of "Islamophobia".<ref>[http://www.newstatesman.com/religion/2013/04/new-atheism-should-be-able-criticise-islam-without-being-accused-islamophobia New Atheism should be able to criticise Islam without being accused of Islamophobia] by Andrew Zak Williams, ''New Statesman'', Published 19 April 2013</ref>

For more information, please see:

*[[Atheism vs. Islam]]
*[[Atheism vs. Christianity]]

==Other Aspects of Islam==
===Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem===
Muhammad's home city of Mecca was the site of his earliest preaching and conversions, and is the location of the Kaaba, traditionally held to be the foundation stone of the first mosque built by Adam and later restored by Abraham, and now the focus of the annual pilgrimage (hajj). Some historians suggest that the Kaaba, a black stone probably meteoric in origin, was venerated by pre-Islamic polytheistic religions.

At first, Jerusalem was claimed by Islam to be its holy city and the focus of prayers, but Mecca became the center of Islam after Muhammad's return in 630. Medina, because of its early association with Muhammad and as the site of Muhammad's tomb, is second in importance to Mecca. Jerusalem is revered by Muslims as the site of Solomon's temple, Abraham's near-sacrifice of his son Ishmael, and the scene of Muhammad's miraculous midnight journey, the latter two now enshrined in the [[Dome of the Rock]] mosque. According to the Koran (Surrah 17:1, Isra) and Hadith, Muhammad and Gabriel were taken on winged mules from Mecca to Jerusalem, where they ascended through the seven heavens to the presence of Allah. During the visit, Muhammad learned, among other points, that Muslims were to pray five times each day and to honor Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and the other prophets.

===People of the Book===
Christians and Jews are called "people of the Book" in the Koran and are considered earlier forerunners to Islam and viewed as brothers as long as they pay an extra tax when under Islamic rule. Islam, which claims roots tracing back to Abraham through his son Ishmael instead of Isaac as the Jews did, believes that they are the descendants of Allah's promise. Islam claims that both the Old and New Testament were corrupted and corrected by the Koran (though in truth, it is the Koran itself which plagiarized from and corrupted Biblical scripture), but there is still an earlier link claimed between the two religions and Islam. The view of Jews and Christians varied within different parts of the Koran and Islamic history. Much of current Islamic culture, even in places that were once very tolerant such as Egypt, has seen an upsurge in persecution and violence against Christians and Jews.

===Jihad===
Jihad is the "struggle" each Muslim is called to against unbelievers (infidels). Participation in jihad in Allah's cause was the third most important good deed listed in the Hadith, after prayer and honoring one's parents. Jihad was a rallying cry for the military spread of Islam in the seventh through tenth centuries against non-Muslims, and is the same reason for Islamic terrorism and war today. 
Some Muslim apologists in the western world say that jihad refers to the difficulties a Muslim faces in the everyday trials of life, such as the effort to get better grades in school, or the striving to achieve better results from a job, or the struggle to avoid sinful temptations. It is, they say, the internal struggle of good and evil, or the pure and the impure. However, this is simply a fabrication, which has been publicly labeled as such by Muslim scholars in the middle east. Nonetheless, even some mosques not teach this, fostering a more peaceful version of Islam. Unfortunately, it is not based on the Koran and the Hadith, but rather modern revisions. Any Muslim believing this peaceful version can be corrected based on these sacred books, and thus become "radicalized."

====Violent passages of the Koran championed by Islam====
In its passages, the Koran has advocated adherents of Islam to commit acts of violence, hatred and insurrection against those who do not follow that ideology (in particular, Jews and Christians) or are critical of it, to subjugate Judaism, Christianity and other religions to Islam and to force the followers of legitimate religions to submit and adhere to Islam.<ref>[https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/quran/violence.aspx What Does Islam Teach About Violence]</ref><ref>[https://thereligionofpeace.com/pages/quran/hell-and-hate.aspx What Does Islam Teach About Hell and Hate]</ref> Not surprisingly, attempts at pointing out the violence advocated by the Koran have been met with denials and excuses by Islamic apologists, who engage in [[taqiyya]] by claiming that the critics of the violent passages took those passages "out of context" and that "critics only quote the part which (suits) them" while the apologists do exactly what they accuse the critics of doing.<ref>[https://discover-the-truth.com/2014/08/12/quran-2191-and-kill-them-wherever-you-find-them-explained/ Quran 2:191- ‘And kill them wherever you find them…’ Explained] - an attempt by Islamic apologists to excuse violent passages of the Koran by offering deceitful explanations of what they claim those passages "really mean"</ref><ref>[http://islam101.com/terror/verse8_12.htm The Holy Quran, verse 8:12], from another Islamic apologist site which excuses the violent passages of the Koran and attacks its critics by claiming "Some non-Muslims either through ignorance or Islam-bashing continue taking the verses of the Holy Quran out of context and its history to justify their false propaganda"</ref><ref>[https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/games/discover-truth/verses/47-4.aspx "Discover the Truth's" Game] - a refutation of the claims and excuses made by the Islamic apologist site Discover the Truth regarding Koran 47:4</ref><ref>[https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2005/01/jihad_quran_9123_v_matthew_103.html Jihad: Quran 9:123 v. Matthew 10:34] at American Thinker</ref><ref>[https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/06/obama_quotes_verse_532_omits_5.html Obama quotes (Koran) verse 5:32, omits 5:33] at American Thinker</ref> Among the more violent and hateful passages of the Koran are these:

*Koran 2:191 - “Slay the unbelievers wherever you find them.”
*Koran 9:123 - “Make war on the infidels living in your neighborhood.”
*Koran 9:5 - “When opportunity arises kill the infidels wherever you catch them.”
*Koran 3:85 - “Any religion other than Islam is not acceptable.”
*Koran 9:30 - “The Jews and the Christians are perverts; fight them.”
*Koran 5:33 - “Maim and crucify the infidels if they criticize Islam”
*Koran 9:28 - “The infidels are unclean; do not let them into a mosque.”
*Koran 22:19 - “Punish the unbelievers with garments of fire, hooked iron rods, boiling water; melt their skin and bellies.”
*Koran 47:4 - “Do not hanker for peace with the infidels; behead them when you catch them.”
*Koran 8:65 - “The unbelievers are stupid; urge the Muslims to fight them.”
*Koran 3:28 - “Muslims must not take the infidels as friends.”
*Koran 8:12 - “Terrorize and behead those who disbelieve (in Allah).”
*Koran 8:60 - “Muslims must muster all weapons to terrorize the infidels.”

====Osama bin Laden and Fundamentalists====
[[Osama bin Laden]], a follower of [[Wahhabism]], stated that Islam is at war with the United States and its allies. Some observers claim that the number of Islamic fundamentalists is growing and poses a threat to the West.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.danielpipes.org/255/islamic-fundamentalists-are-the-new-big-threat-to-the-west|title=Islamic Fundamentalists are the New Big Threat to the West|author=Daniel Pipes|newspaper=Philadelphia Inquirer|date=Sept 16, 1994}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.city-journal.org/html/rev2006-06-04td.html|title=All or Nothing: The quest for a moderate Islam may be futile.|date=June 4, 2006|author=Theodore Dalrymple|newspaper=Cite Journal}}</ref> But other observers differentiate between conservative "fundamentalists" and the "extremists" who follow murderers such as bin Laden or other terrorists.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://townhall.com/columnists/dineshdsouza/2008/09/15/who_speaks_for_islam/page/full/|title=Who Speaks For Islam|author=Dinesh D'Souza|newspaper=Townhall|date=Sept 15, 2009}}</ref> In several major Islamic nations, bin Laden had the support of the majority of people in the early years after the 9/11 attacks. As he lost battles with the West and started to target fellow Muslims his popularity waned.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewglobal.org/2012/04/30/on-anniversary-of-bin-ladens-death-little-backing-of-al-qaeda/|title=On Anniversary of bin Laden’s Death, Little Backing of al Qaeda|date=April 30, 2012|publisher=Pew Research Center}}</ref>

===Islam and Forced Conversion===
The Quran and the various Hadiths teach Muslims to fight Non-Muslims until they are killed, converted, or in a permanent state of subjugation.
*Quran (8:38-39) - “Say to those who have disbelieved, if they cease (from disbelief) their past will be forgiven... And fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief and polytheism: i.e. worshipping others besides Allah) and the religion (worship) will all be for Allah Alone [in the whole of the world ]. But if they cease (worshipping others besides Allah), then certainly, Allah is All-Seer of what they do.”

*Quran (9:29) - "Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued."

*Quran (9:5) "But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war); but if they repent, and establish regular prayers and practice regular charity, then open the way for them..."

*Quran (9:11) - (Continued from verse 9:5) "But if they repent and establish worship and pay the poor-due, then are they your brethren in religion"

*Quran (9:56-57) - "And they swear by Allah that they are most surely of you, and they are not of you, but they are a people who are afraid (of you). If they could find a refuge or cave or a place to enter into, they would certainly have turned thereto, running away in all haste."

*Quran (2:193) - "And fight them until fitna is no more, and religion be only for Allah. But if they desist, then let there be no hostility except against wrong-doers."

*Qur'an (3:83) - "Are they seeking a religion other than Allah's, when every soul in the heavens and the earth has submitted to Him, willingly or by compulsion?"

*Sahih Muslim (1:33) The Messenger of Allah said: "I have been commanded to fight against people till they testify that there is no god but Allah, that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, and they establish prayer and pay zakat."

*Sahih Muslim (19:4294) - "When you meet your enemies who are polytheists (which includes Christians), invite them to three courses of action. If they respond to any one of these, you also accept it and withhold yourself from doing them any harm. Invite them to (accept) Islam; if they respond to you, accept it from them and desist from fighting against them ... If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the Jizya. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah's help and fight them"

*Sahih Bukhari (84:59) - "Allah's Apostle said, 'I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.' And if they say so, pray like our prayers, face our Qibla and slaughter as we slaughter, then their blood and property will be sacred to us and we will not interfere with them except legally and their reckoning will be with Allah.'"

*Sahih Bukhari (53:392) - "While we were in the Mosque, the Prophet came out and said, "Let us go to the Jews" We went out till we reached Bait-ul-Midras. He said to them, "If you embrace Islam, you will be safe. You should know that the earth belongs to Allah and His Apostle, and I want to expel you from this land. So, if anyone amongst you owns some property, he is permitted to sell it, otherwise you should know that the Earth belongs to Allah and His Apostle."

*Sahih Bukhari (2:24) - "Allah's Apostle said: "I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight against the people until they testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah's Apostle, and offer the prayers perfectly and give the obligatory charity, so if they perform a that, then they save their lives and property from me except for Islamic laws and then their reckoning (accounts) will be done by Allah."

*Sahih Bukhari (60:80) - "The Verse:--'You (true Muslims) are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind.' means, the best of peoples for the people, as you bring them with chains on their necks till they embrace Islam."

*Sahih Bukhari (60:40) - "...:And fight them till there is no more affliction (i.e. no more worshiping of others along with Allah)."

*Sahih Bukhari (59:643) - "Testify that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah, or else I will chop off your neck!"

*Ibn Kathir v.4 p.133, Ibn Ishaq/Hisham 959 - "Then the apostle sent Khalid bin Walid… to the Banu al-Harith and ordered him to invite them to Islam three days before he attacked them. If they accepted then he was to accept it from them, and if they declined he was to fight them. So Khalid set out and came to them, and sent out riders in all directions inviting the people to Islam, saying, 'If you accept Islam you will be safe.' So the men accepted Islam as they were invited."

*Ibn Kathir (Commenting on Quran 2:256 in the unabridged version of his tafsir) - "Therefore all people of the world should be called to Islam. If anyone of them refuses to do so, or refuses to pay the jizya, they should be fought till they are killed."

===Islam and Slavery===
*Quran (33:50) - ''"O Prophet! We have made lawful to thee thy wives to whom thou hast paid their dowers; and those (slaves) whom thy right hand possesses out of the prisoners of war whom Allah has assigned to thee"
''
*Quran (23:5-6) - ''"..who abstain from sex, except with those joined to them in the marriage bond, or (the captives) whom their right hands possess..."
''
*Quran (4:24) - ''"And all married women (are forbidden unto you) save those (captives) whom your right hands possess."
''
*Quran (8:69) - ''"But (now) enjoy what ye took in war, lawful and good"''

*Quran (24:32) - ''"And marry those among you who are single and those who are fit among your male slaves and your female slaves..."''

*Quran (2:178) - ''"O ye who believe! Retaliation is prescribed for you in the matter of the murdered; the freeman for the freeman, and the slave for the slave, and the female for the female."
''
*Quran (16:75) - ''"Allah sets forth the Parable (of two men: one) a slave under the dominion of another; He has no power of any sort; and (the other) a man on whom We have bestowed goodly favours from Ourselves, and he spends thereof (freely), privately and publicly: are the two equal? (By no means;) praise be to Allah."
''
*Sahih Bukhari (41.598) - Muhammad establishes that slaves are property. They cannot be freed if an owner has outstanding debt, but they can be used to pay off the debt<ref>https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/quran/slavery.aspx</ref>

*Sahih Bukhari (62:137) - Gives an account of women taken as slaves in battle by Mohammed's men after their husbands and fathers were killed. The women were raped with Mohammed's approval.

*Sahih Bukhari (34:432) - Another account of women taken captive and raped with Mohammed's approval. In this case it is evident that the Muslims intend on selling the women after raping them because they are concerned about devaluing their price by impregnating them. Muhammad is asked about coitus interruptus.

*Sahih Bukhari (47:765) - A woman is rebuked by Mohammed for freeing a slave girl. The prophet tells her that she would have gotten a greater heavenly reward by giving her to a relative (as a slave).

*Sahih Bukhari (2:15:103) - ''"I was watching the display of black slaves in the mosque..."''

*Sahih Bukhari (59:637) - ''"The Prophet sent Ali to Khalid to bring the Khumus (of the booty) and I hated Ali, and Ali had taken a bath (after a sexual act with a slave-girl from the Khumus). I said to Khalid, 'Don't you see this (i.e. Ali)?' When we reached the Prophet I mentioned that to him. He said, 'O Buraida! Do you hate Ali?' I said, 'Yes.' He said, 'Do you hate him, for he deserves more than that from the Khumlus.'"''

*Abu Dawud (2150) - ''"The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) sent a military expedition to Awtas on the occasion of the battle of Hunain. They met their enemy and fought with them. They defeated them and took them captives. Some of the Companions of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) were reluctant to have intercourse with the female captives in the presence of their husbands who were unbelievers. So Allah, the Exalted, sent down the Qur’anic verse: (Quran 4:24) 'And all married women (are forbidden) unto you save those (captives) whom your right hands possess.'"
''
*Abu Dawud (1814) - ''"...[Abu Bakr] He then began to beat [his slave] him while the Apostle of Allah (pbuh) was smiling and saying: Look at this man who is in the sacred state (putting on ihram), what is he doing?"
''
*Abu Dawud (38:4458) - ''Narrated Ali ibn AbuTalib: “A slave-girl belonging to the house of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) committed fornication. He (the Prophet) said: Rush up, Ali, and inflict the prescribed punishment on her. I then hurried up, and saw that blood was flowing from her, and did not stop. So I came to him and he said: Have you finished inflicting (punishment on her)? I said: I went to her while her blood was flowing. He said: Leave her alone till her bleeding stops; then inflict the prescribed punishment on her. And inflict the prescribed punishment on those whom your right hands possess (i.e. slaves)”.''

*Abu Dawud (1:142) - ''"Do not beat your wife as you beat your slave-girl"''

===Stealing from non-Muslims===
The Koran and the various Hadiths encourage Muslims to steal from non-Muslims.
*Koran (8:69) - "So enjoy what you took as booty; the spoils are lawful and good."

*Koran (48:20) - "Allah promised you many acquisitions which you will take, then he hastened on this one for you and held back the hands of men from you, and that it may be a sign for the believers and that he may guide you on a right path."

*Koran (33:27) - "And he caused you to inherit their land and their houses and their wealth, and land ye have not trodden. Allah is ever able to do all things."

*Sahih Bukhari (53:351) - " Allah's Messenger said, "Booty has been made legal for me."

*Ibn Ishaq (327) - "Allah made booty lawful and good. He used it to incite the Muslims to unity of purpose. So enjoy what you have captured."

*Ibn Ishaq (503) - "Allah saw what was in their hearts [what they coveted] so he rewarded them with victory and with as much spoil as they could take. Allah promised that they would soon capture a great deal of booty.”

*Sahih Bukhari (44:668) - "We were in the company of the Prophet at Dhul-Hulaifa. The people felt hungry and captured some camels and sheep (as booty)..."

*Ahmad 4869 (also found in the original Hadith of Bukhari and Sahih al Jaami' AsSagheer 2828) - It is mentioned from Ibn ‘Umar from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, “I have been raised between the hands of the Hour with the sword, until Allah the Exalted is worshipped alone with no associates. He has provided sustenance from beneath the shadow of spears and has decreed humiliation and belittlement for those who oppose my order.”<ref>https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/quran/stealing.aspx</ref>

===Contamination of Food given to Non-Muslims===
There have been incidents where Muslims contaminate food given to Non-Muslims:
*In 2008, in the U.K, Saeed Hashmi and Jan Yadgari, the owners of a restaurant, sold chocolate cake sprayed with human feces.<ref>https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/07/uk-muslim-who-sprayed-food-with-feces-and-urine-cant-be-deported</ref>

*In July 2019, the local branch of ISIS in India planned to poison prasadam at a Hindu temple, to kill over 400 Hindu devotees. The suspects were arrested before they could do this.<ref>https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/terror-group-islamic-state-zakir-naik-mumbreshwar-temple-1573514-2019-07-25</ref>

*In August 2019, a Muslim vendor in the city of Meerut in India was caught mixing his Urine and Sperm in Biryani that he sold to Hindus.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LGuYkInllg</ref>

*On April 3, 2020, a Muslim fruit vendor in India was caught licking fruits before selling them.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPoFAe52uw4&feature=emb_title</ref>

*On May 8, 2020, a Muslim man by the name of Abdul Nazim Sheikh Mahmood was caught on video licking bread while cutting it. The incident occurred in Maharashtra, India.<ref>https://www.opindia.com/2020/05/maharashtra-man-arrested-in-amravati-after-video-of-him-spitting-on-bread-in-a-bakery-goes-viral-on-tiktok/</ref>

*On February 21, 2021, a Muslim man by the name of Sohail was caught on video spitting on Rotis while cooking for a wedding in the city of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, India.<ref>https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/watch-man-spits-on-tandoori-rotis-while-cooking-at-wedding-in-ups-meerut-arrested/723272</ref>

*On March 19, 2021, two Muslim men by the names of Sabi Anwar and Ibrahim were caught on camera spitting on Rotis that they were preparing.<ref>https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/2-staffers-held-for-spitting-on-rotis/article34103460.ece</ref>

===Restrictions===
Observant Muslims are not supposed to eat pork and in general do not have dogs as pets; both swine and canines are considered unclean. Muslims can have dogs for safety. Muslims are prohibited from drinking alcoholic beverages, gambling, and from collecting interest on financial transactions.

===Women in Islam===
[[File:Muslim girls at Istiqlal Mosque Jakarta Indonesia.jpg|left|thumb|240px|Muslim girls at Istiqlal [[Mosque]], Jakarta.]]
In pre-Islamic times women's rights were defined by tribal laws which differed among the tribes. Some women had absolute equity and the ability to hold power, while some women were treated worse than chattel; bride prices, unlimited polygamy, and female infanticide were a common theme. [[Sharia law|Islamic law]] offered a path for which Muslim men could regulate women in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence on the Arabian peninsula. Treated merely as individual sex objects, women were granted very limited rights but as distinct legal individuals; forced to marry who their parents tell them to, women are required not to directly object in order for the marriage contract to have some form of validity.

Unlike the pre-Islamic times where unlimited polygamy occurred, [[Sharia law]] limits [[polygamy]] to a maximum of four wives at any one time, though the use of "temporary" marriage in effect rendered this restriction meaningless. Once married, only men are entitled to divorce any time they please. The reality of traditional Sharia law as applied in the modern era has shocked the modern conscience.<ref>Linda Rae Bennett, ''Women, Islam and Modernity'' (2005)</ref> These restrictions on women were put into place over a thousand years ago, and there has been little progress since. Women are still not allowed to drive a [[car]], they cannot ride [[bicycle]]s, are unable to [[vote]], have been prohibited from traveling abroad without permission, and they can't use public facilities when men are present.

[[File:Sharia.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Muslim woman tortured under Sharia law.]]
Women in Islam are treated as inferiors to men in almost every regard and women's rights are all but non-existent in Islam, a fact conveniently ignored by the ideology's liberal allies (including in [[feminism]] and the [[mainstream media]]). In [[Sharia]], the testimony of one man equals that of five women. Women are required to cover the head and body in public, by wearing the hijab. Hijab is applied in different ways: a small scarf around the head and western street clothes may be acceptable in Cairo or Damascus but a full length opaque [[burqa]] was enforced in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. As of 2008, [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Iran]], and [[Pakistan]] are the most significant Middle Eastern countries where the government requires women to wear some form of restrictive garb, though cultural pressure in most Islamic countries offers women little choice but to submit to the dictat of hijab. Women who are claimed by their husbands or family to have disgraced their family are put to death in "[[honor killing]]s"; buried halfway or sometimes up to their neck so they cannot run, women, who are in most cases victims, are stoned to death.

====Honor Killings====
Another violent practice continued in Islamic countries is [[honor killing]], in which a brother, father, or uncle "restores" or "defends" a family's honor by killing the sister, daughter, or niece that "dishonored" the family through supposedly "promiscuous" behavior. This "promiscuous" activity often includes women from Islamic societies living in the West aspiring to a more open lifestyle. The "honor killing" is more ancient, and pagan in origin, but tolerated and practiced more or less openly in some Islamic societies.

Some apologists might try to excuse or justify this practice by putting down this verse:

<blockquote>
'Because of that, We decreed...that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land - it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one - it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were transgressors.' -5:32. [http://quran.com/5/32].
</blockquote>

Notice the ellipses between decreed and that? I hope you did, and if you followed the link you would know that this was decreed to the Children of Israel, who would be the Jews. Now, how could this be a defense against honor killing in Islamic countries if this wasn't even given to Muslims? The answer lies in the very next verse:

<blockquote>
'Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive upon earth [to cause] corruption is none but that they be killed or crucified or that their hands and feet be cut off from opposite sides or that they be exiled from the land. That is for them a disgrace in this world; and for them in the Hereafter is a great punishment, Except for those who return [repenting] before you apprehend them. And know that Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.' (5:33-34) [http://quran.com/5/33] [http://quran.com/5/34]
</blockquote>

So what we get from that, unlike the Jews where it is a blessing not to commit murder, for Muslims, it is a deed for Allah to murder those who have "caused corruption". Among these that "cause corruption" could be one's daughter, sister, or wife who is not wearing the headscarf, praying five times a day, not fasting in Ramadan, becoming too Westernized, etc., and thus honor killing would be "justified" in their view. Of course if you look at the next verse, it says that you should be merciful to those who have repented -before you apprehend them. This implies that they will be terrorized, and then there self-preservation instinct will kick in and they will repent. But what about those who don't? What if one's female relative doesn't believe that the headscarf is necessary while you do? And what if she still believes the same way after you apprehend her? You follow 5:33. As Muhammed himself proclaimed:

<blockquote>
I have been made victorious with terror.'
-Bukhari 4.52.220 [http://www.quranexplorer.com/Hadith/English/Hadith/bukhari/004.052.220.html].
</blockquote>

====Female Genital Mutilation====
Female genital mutilation (also known as "female circumcision") is mentioned in Hadith as an "honorable" condition for a woman, and act to carry out. It is a pre-Islamic tradition in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world, though not in Coptic Egypt as some Islamic apologists claim. Female genital mutilation is not called for nor is it supported by the Koran.

====Abortion====
Muslims see [[abortion]] as ''haram'' (forbidden), but accept it if the life of mother is at risk.<ref>https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/islamethics/abortion_1.shtml</ref>

====Islamic dress is regular grounds for conflict in multicultural education====
Treatment of women varies widely by country. In the Islamic state of Saudi Arabia women are forbidden from driving a car, traveling in public without their husband or a male family member as an escort, leaving their home without wearing Islamic dress, working or voting. Though not formally forbidden from owning property, they have no way of obtaining this as work is forbidden and only males are permitted to inherit – should a man die, his brothers, sons, and father will all inherit before his wife. These restrictions are part of Sharia law and enforced by the police and a special Islamic office. Pakistan has similar restrictions but to a lesser extent. In contrast, [[Turkey]] has a majority Muslim population and yet grants women some rights similar to those of men including property ownership, employment, and education to university level.

Islamic apologists suggest the extremely repressive policies of countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are cultural rather than religious, though these are the countries where traditional Islam is strongest. They point to the more moderate Islam practiced in Turkey as a demonstration that Islam and women's rights are compatible, ignoring the efforts of traditionalists in Turkey to end the few freedoms women were granted by men.

Islamic women's status is controversial. While Islamic men control and oppress Islamic women by compelling them to remain hidden behind the veil, sequestered in the home, and ignorant of the world by denying them access to education and worldly opportunities, Islamic apologists defend some practices. These men claim that many of the restrictions on women, such as the veil, are cultural traditions that pre-date Islam and are intended to protect women from predatory men. Unfortunately, such Islamic men ignore the fact that if a predatory man or group of rapists were to sexually assault an Islamic woman in Islam, she would be punished under Sharia law for "allowing" such an act to occur, and she would likely receive hundreds of lashes and years of jail time or be punished with death; the predatory man or men commonly go unpunished or only receive very light punishments at worst.

=== Atheism vs. Islam ===
From a global perspective, [[Europe]] is more secular/[[Atheism|atheistic]] than the rest of the world although it does have a considerable amount of religious immigrants who have higher birth rates (see: [[Secular Europe]] and [[Atheist population]] and [[Global atheism]]).

===Anti-Science===
Modern science started in Christian Europe, not the Islamic world, and not even China. The Islamic world has not accomplished anything major in the sciences, unless copying counts. The Muslims borrowed their architecture from the Byzantines. For example, the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem was built and designed by Byzantine craftsmen. Thousands of years before Muhammad was born, the Greeks discovered algebra and the Persians built the first astrolabe, though no denying that the Arabs were influential in naming it. After Greece and China established academies with Syrian Christians starting the School of Nisibis, the first school of higher education to achieve university status was the University of Bologna, while Al-Ahzar University was established as a madrassa around 970 AD, but did not achieve university status until 990 years later; the first hospital was built by the heretical Nestorians. The Indian numerals were actually modified in Europe, but ironically, the Arabic language was the last one to adopt the modified version.

==Historical Background==
According to Islamic belief, in approximately 610 A.D., [[Muhammad]], a 40-year-old merchant of the Quraysh tribe in [[Mecca]], located in the Hijaz (now eastern [[Saudi Arabia]]), was commanded by the angel [[Gabriel]] (or Jibreel) to "recite" the message of Allah (professed by adherents of Islam to be their god). Gabriel said mankind had lost sight of Allah's previous messages to earlier prophets, [[Adam]], [[Noah]], [[Abraham]], [[Moses]], [[Solomon]], and [[Jesus]], among others, and that Muhammad was to spread Allah's message to all people so that mankind would know how to live, how to show respect for Allah, and how to prepare for the judgment day.
[[File:Islam750.jpg|right|thumb|Map of the expansion of Islam]]
The message to Muhammad was to be Allah's last and fullest revelation, a direct copy of the Umm Al Khitab, the mother of all books located in heaven next to Allah; Muhammad was the "seal of the prophets." Muhammad won some converts to Islam in his local area, but his [[monotheist]] preaching threatened to undermine the profitable [[polytheist]] pilgrim traffic supporting many Meccan merchants. In 622 A.D., the merchants drove Muhammad and his followers out of Mecca to the city of Yathrib (later renamed [[Medina]], or the city – as in the city of the prophet). This flight (hijra) from Mecca to Medina marks the beginning of the Islamic lunar calendar, and is celebrated each year in the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Muhammad's forces, composed of the sahaba (companions) from Mecca, and the Ansar (allied tribes from Yathrib) started attacking the trade caravans going in and out of Mecca, cutting off its economic lifeline. After a series of battles between the Meccans and Muhammad's forces, Mecca finally accepted Muhammad's ultimatum to succumb and convert to Islam. The city welcomed the prophet back in 630. Muhammad died in 632.

Tribal elders in a traditional council called the "Shura" elected [[Abu Bakr]] to be Muhammad's successor, or [[Caliph]] (Khalifa). Abu Bakr united the tribes of the Arabian peninsula during his two years as head of the new faith. Upon his death, the elders elected [[Umar ibn al-Khattab]] the next Caliph. During Umar's ten-year reign, Islam invaded and spread through conquest and negotiation into [[Egypt]], [[Syria]], [[Palestine]], [[Iraq]], and parts of Persia (modern-day [[Iran]]). Umar was assassinated by a Persian in 644, and was succeeded by [[Uthman ibn Affan]], who continued the invasions to spread Islam into [[North Africa]], [[Cyprus]], the rest of Persia, [[Afghanistan]], and parts of [[India]] and [[Pakistan]]. Over the next two centuries, Islamic armies continued to expanded Islam's empire into sub-Saharan Africa, [[Spain]], South-east and Central Asia, and [[Turkey]].

The Muslim armies conquered and superseded the ancient Sassanid and Byzantine empires which had ruled before. Within a generation of Muhammad's death Islamic armies occupied an empire stretching from the Nile river to the far-off Persian province of Khorasan. Reasons for the rapid conquest are varied and obscure. The Arab armies were more akin to tribal war bands raiding and settling where and when they could. The Byzantine and Sassanid empires had been at war for centuries. The constant simmering conflict between Constantinople and Persia reached a climax in the early 7th century. The Sassanids conquered briefly Egypt and the Levant threatening the central Byzantine heartland of Anatolia. Under the military reforms of the emperor Heraclius, the Byzantine army consolidated and counterattacked, recapturing all that they had lost and capturing the Sassanian capital of Ctesiphon in 628.

This brief end of the Roman-Persian wars disrupted the frontier areas which had predicated their economies on raiding and mercenary activities. Two major areas in Arabia were directly affected. The Lackmid tribe and the Gassanid tribe both acted as mercenaries for the Persians and Romans. The official religion of both tribes analogically mirrored that of their overseers. Monophysite Christianity was common, particularly of the Jacobite sect. The death of Muhammad and the subsequent Ridda wars occupied these warrior tribes until the reign of Caliph Umar. Additionally, there was great religious unrest in the Levant and Egypt. These areas resented the ruinous taxes and the harsh orthodoxy imposed by the emperor in Constantinople.

The same climate was present in the Sassanid realm with the rise of the dualism of the Manicheans. Under the Caliph Umar, the Arab tribes which had concluded the infighting following the death of Muhammad were allowed to raid into the Byzantine and Sassanid frontiers. The weakened state of both regimes from both military and economic exhaustion and religious unrest made them fertile picking grounds for the tribal warbands. The Arabs were chiefly successful in holding these areas in that they upheld a lightweight regime of low taxes based on the Islamic laws and distant government. Rather than employing an army of bureaucrats and nobility, the early Arab empire was more favorable towards maintaining the existing government structures under the leadership of Arab tribes. In this atmosphere, it is hardly surprising to note the reports from both Islamic and Christian sources of peaceful capitulation and invitation of the invading forces.

[[File:Madina Haram at evening .jpg|center|800px|thumb|Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (the Mosque of the Prophet) in [[Medina]], [[Saudi Arabia]], the site of [[Muhammad|Muhammad's]] tomb.]]

=== Islam and war ===

''See also:'' [[Irreligion/religion and war]] and [[Islamic terrorism]] and [[Atheism vs. Islam]]

In his book ''The Irrational [[Atheism|Atheist]]'', [[Vox Day]] wrote:
{{Cquote|It’s also interesting to note that more than half of these religious wars, sixty-six in all, were waged by Islamic nations, which is rather more than might be statistically expected considering that the first war in which Islam was involved took place almost three millennia after the first war chronicled in the ''Encyclopedia'', Akkad’s conquest of Sumer in 2325 B.C.

In light of this evidence, the fact that a specific religion is currently sparking a great deal of
conflict around the globe cannot reasonably be used to indict all religious faith, especially when one
considers that removing that single religion from the equation means that all of the other religious
faiths combined only account for 3.35 percent of humanity’s wars.<ref>[http://www.voxday.net/mart/TIA_free.pdf The Irrational Atheist - Abbreviated free copy on PDF]</ref>}}

===Islam and Christianity===
''See also: [[Dhimma]]'' 
While adherents of Islam do not believe Jesus to be the Son of God or in the Resurrection, they consider Him and His mother to be among Allah's most important prophets (Marian and Isa) otherwise known as Mary and Jesus. However, the Koran warns against worshipping Jesus, Muhammad, and other humans for fear of [[idolatry]].<ref>[http://www.ccg.org/_domain/ccg.org/Islam/Islam.htm Christian Churches of God Articles on Islam], March 10, 2007</ref>

The Koran states that non-believers will be punished, though the nature of the punishment is not specified (same as similar statements in the Bible and the Torah):

{{cquote|Surely, disbelievers are those who said:
'Allah is the third of the three (in a Trinity).' But there is no god but One, Allah.
And if they cease not from what they say, verily, a painful torment will befall the disbelievers among them.

Will they not repent to Allah and ask His Forgiveness? For Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.

The Messiah, son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger; many were the Messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a Siddiqah (i.e. she believed in the words of God and His Books ).
They both used to eat food (as any other human eat).
Look how We make the signs clear to them, yet look how they are deluded away (from the truth)."
}}
::(Koran 5:73-75)

However, Islam does recognize Christians and Jews as "people of the book" since both refer to one God only, and recognize Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic) as a founding prophet.

==Critics==
Most contemporary critics of Islam are either atheists or nominally religious: [[Ibn Warraq]] (author), [[Wafa Sultan]] (psychiatrist), [[Ayaan Hirsi Ali]] (author), [[Hugh Fitzgerald]] (of JihadWatch), [[Oriana Fallaci]] (author), [[Geert Wilders]] (politician), [[Sam Harris]] (author), [[Pamela Geller]] (blogger), [[Bill Maher]] (comedian) and the crowd at the Ayn Rand Institute. The notable exception is [[Robert Spencer]], who while a devout Catholic, criticizes Islam as the socio-political ideology it is. Political critics include [[Winston Churchill]],<ref>[http://thefederalistpapers.org/us/winston-churchills-brutal-takedown-of-islam-means-more-today-than-ever Winston Churchill’s Brutal Takedown of Islam Means More Today than Ever]</ref> [[Herman Cain]], [[Rick Santorum]],<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.news-press.com/article/20130323/NEWS0119/303230016/Santorum-delivers-warning-about-radical-Islam-during-Naples-appearance|title=Santorum delivers warning about radical Islam during Naples appearance|date=March 23, 2013|newspaper=Fort Meyers News Press|author=Lindsay Downey}}</ref> [[David Horowitz]] (author) and [[Pat Robertson]] (preacher). Neither [[Ronald Reagan]] (who helped mujahideen fight atheistic Communists) nor [[George W. Bush]] ("Islam means peace") saw Islam as the problem. Commentators note that the conservative response to fundamental Islam is a far cry from the complete and unequivocal condemnation of Communism during the heyday of the Cold War.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.liberty-and-culture.com/conservatives.html|title=The Conservative Response to the Islamic Threat.|author=Jason Pappas|date=Sept 5, 2004}}</ref> [[Dinesh D’Souza]] argues that Muslims are "God-fearing conservatives",<ref>{{cite book|author=Dinesh D’Souza|title=The Enemy At Home|year=2007|publisher= Doubleday}}</ref> even though they have formed convenient alliances with liberals and several Islamic countries (particularly Iran) have formed alliances with the Communist regimes in [[China]] and [[North Korea]] and the Marxist regime in [[Venezuela]] to oppose the United States and its Western allies.<ref>''Some of the text for this article was taken from "Islam: A Primer", Congressional Research Service Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain'' [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back]</ref>

===Ex-Muslims===
[[Michelle Malkin]] highlights a group of [[Ex-Muslims]] hoping to change the terms of debate about Islam in Europe. Maryam Namazie, the head of the British group said "Too many things in the media and government policies have been geared to pandering to the political Islamic movements and Islamic organizations."<ref>[http://michellemalkin.com/2007/06/20/ex-muslims-stand-up-in-britain/ Ex-Muslims stand up in Britain]</ref> Ex-Muslims include Ibn Warraq, Wafa Sultan, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Mark A. Gabriel, Walid Shoebat, and Mosab Hassan Yousef.

== See also ==
[[Image:Africa islam 87.jpg|thumb|Islam in Africa]]
*[[Arab American]]
*[[Islamic republic]]
*[[Islamophobia]]
*[[Qur'an]]
*[[Jihadism]], an extremist, take on Islam
*[[Ramadan]]
*[[In the midst of a Maelstrom: the Holy Spirit and silence: an essay]] encounter of Israeli Messianic Jew and Egyptian Muslim in Alexandria
*[[List of countries by number of Muslims]]
*[[Undercover Muslim]]
*[[Islamic worldviews]]
*[[Islamophilia]]
*[[Judaism and Islam]]
*[[Atheism vs. Islam]]
*[[Islam and Christianity]]

==Further reading==
* Armour, Rollin. ''Islam, Christianity, and the West: A Troubled History'' (2002) [https://www.amazon.com/Islam-Christianity-West-Troubled-History/dp/1570754071/ref=sr_1_32?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342713&sr=1-32 excerpt and text search]
* Armstrong, Karen. ''Islam: A Short History'' (2002) [https://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-Modern-Library-Chronicles/dp/081296618X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Berkey, Jonathan P. ''The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800'' (2002) [https://www.amazon.com/Formation-Islam-Religion-Society-600-1800/dp/0521588138/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342713&sr=1-27 excerpt and text search]
* Campo, Juan Eduardo. ''Encyclopedia of Islam'' (2009), basic introduction
* Esposito, John J. ''The Oxford History of Islam'' (2000) [https://www.amazon.com/Oxford-History-Islam-John-Esposito/dp/0195107993/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-6 excerpt and text search]
* Glasse, Cyril. ''The New Encyclopedia of Islam'' ( 2nd ed. 2008)
* Lewis, Bernard. ''Islam in History: Ideas, People, and Events in the Middle East'' (2001), by leading conservative historian [https://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-People-Events-Middle/dp/0812695186/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342525&sr=1-15 excerpt and text search]
* Martin, Richard C. et al. ''Encyclopedia of Islam & the Muslim World'' (2003), more advanced
* Newby, Gordon. ''A Concise Encyclopedia of Islam'' (2002) [https://www.amazon.com/Concise-Encyclopedia-Islam-Gordon-Newby/dp/1851682953/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342942&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]
* Robinson, Chase F. ed. ''The New Cambridge History of Islam'' (Volume 1) (2009), summarizes advanced scholarship
* Ruthven, Malise, and Azim Nanji. ''Historical Atlas of Islam'' (2004)
* Schimmel, Annemarie. ''Islam: An Introduction''. (1992)
* Sonn, Tamara and Mary Williamsburg. ''A Brief History of Islam'' (2004) [https://www.amazon.com/Brief-History-Blackwell-Histories-Religion/dp/1405109009/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342302&sr=1-12 excerpt and text search]
* Wheatcroft, Andrew. ''Infidels: A History of the Conflict Between Christendom and Islam'' (2005) [https://www.amazon.com/Infidels-History-Conflict-Between-Christendom/dp/0812972392/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259342525&sr=1-13 excerpt and text search]

==External links==
*[http://muslim-canada.org/islam_christianity.html Islam and Christianity] - excellent article comparing and contrasting the two.
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/ Qur'an online in English]
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/ Sahih Bukhari (Hadith collection) online in English]
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/ Sahih Muslim (Hadith collection) online in English]
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/abudawud/ Sunan Abu-Dawud (Hadith collection) online in English]
*[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muwatta/ Malik's Muwatta (Hadith collection) online in English]
* Congressional Research Service, "Islam: A Primer", Report for Congress (2003), a work in the public domain and the source of part of this article [http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/islam.htm#back]
*[http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2011/01/islamists-torch-pope-in-effigy-again.html Islamists Torch Pope in Effigy, Again]
*[http://www.tribecatrib.com/news/2010/december/849_kind-strangers.html Muslims Saving Jews During World War II.] By Shane Dixon Kavanaugh.
*[http://differencesbetween.com/islam-and-muslim/ Difference Between Islam and Muslim]
*[http://bertschlossberg.blogspot.com/ A Turkish Delight: they think so in Israel too!]
*[http://bertschlossberg.blogspot.com/ Turkey's Islamic scholar, Rabbi Meir Lau, and Cain speechless before Abel]

==References==
{{reflist|group=note}}

[[Category:Islam]]
[[Category:Political Ideologies]]
[[Category:Perpetrators of Cancel Culture]]

Turkiye

2021-06-29T15:13:30Z

Andrewlee: