The Gatestone Institute: Turkey's Conquest-Fetish

The Fall of Constantinople - May, 1453 -

In the Gatestone Institute, Burak Bekdil writes:

"1071 is a very special year for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan -- and his Islamist ideologues. Erdogan often speaks about his "2071 targets," a reference to his vision of "Great Turkey," on the 1000^th anniversary of a battle that paved the Turks' way into where they still live.

"In 1071, the Seljuk Turks did not arrive in Anatolia from their native Central Asian steppes with flowers in their hands. Instead they were in full combat gear, fighting a series of wars against the Christian Byzantine [Eastern Roman] Empire and featuring a newfound Islamic zeal. The Battle of Manzikert in 1071 is widely seen as the moment when the Byzantines lost the war against the Turks: before the end of the century, the Turks were in control of the entire Anatolian peninsula." Read it all.

What Russia intends to do in Syria - Al Monitor

Why Moscow is preparing to return to Syria

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Al Jazeera: Islam and Democracy - What's the Problem?

Al Jazeera asks two important questions?
"Can Muslim-majority countries strike a balance between faith and democracy?
Or, is there an irreconcilable tension between liberal values and Islamic beliefs?"

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Human Rights in the Gulf States: What is happening to Christians?

"(T)he oil boom of the 1970s created a tremendous demand for foreign labor in the Persian Gulf rentier states. Un-surprisingly, the number of workers needed to drive the emerging economies of the Gulf states was bound to include significant numbers of Christians. There are now more than three and a half million expatriate Christians working in the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, mostly Catholics from the Philippines, India, and Pakistan. As their numbers increased, the question of how—or whether—to allow them to openly practice their faith became a significant issue."

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Human Rights in Turkey - Are they about to become more restrictive?

"The country (of Turkey) is being dragged into increasing levels of authoritarianism with few if any checks and balances. The opposition parties fail to impress the voters and show no sign of credibly challenging Islamist rule. An unresolved rift between a growing Kurdish population and a shrinking Turkish one has the potential to explode, especially as Kurds outside Turkey gain de facto independence. Meanwhile, a frightening number of Turks just do not seem to care that the representative, democratic republic bequeathed to them by Kemal Atatürk is becoming just one more relic in the junkyard of history."

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France Plans to close up to 160 mosques.

France plans to close up to 160 mosques. I found this news on many sources, and have tried to find the original writer from whom it came.

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One Palestinian Family against Israel: non-violent and non angry in a dispute over a farm.

This story from the BBC is an amazing tale of courage and character over ten years of court battles with the State of Israel.

For the Nasser family who lives by their beliefs of "We refuse to be enemies", the road to retain their land has been long and arduous.

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Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Hajj: Why Iranians aren't going on the Hajj this year.

Bruce Riedel has written a fascinating article in El Monitor telling why Iranians are going to have a very hard time going on the Hajj this year.

"Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef is preparing to assure this year's hajj season of pilgrimage to Mecca is safe and not marred by a repeat of last year's bloody stampede. As Iran is a major source of Saudi concerns about hajj security, Riyadh is shutting out Iranians in a move that also suits its efforts to delegitimize Tehran."

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