The American Spectator

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p> DRESS CODE br> Re: George H. Wittman's Headscarves and Helmets : /p>

The genesis of Kamal Ataturk was his belief in the modern "secular" state. This is what has allowed Turkey to bridge "east," as in Middle East, and "west."

"Outside of the major cities, in the towns, villages and farms of the rest of Turkey, there is a deep belief in the practice of Islam. To Turkey's secularists these communities breed willful ignorance. The image exists among metropolitan sophisticates that the "unwashed" of the countryside want to impose religious rules on everyday aspects of life. In other words the specter of a revival of Sharia law haunts urban Turkey."

p>Any U.S, service member that has been stationed in Turkey during the Cold War, knows this to be an absolute fact. Like Algeria, Iran, Libya and Egypt, the descent into Sharia Law. Turkey's balancing act between Islam's insanity and Islam's genesis was a shining hope that people dwelling in that region could benefit from modern and technical development, that they are losing, the shift back to the 12th century is no longer in the backyard scattered hill country, but in the schools, and now the universities. br> -- S. in Severn /p>

I found Mr. Wittman's column to be extremely interesting. I think that it is terribly wrong to believe that we can totally understand the Turkish situation, what with our American/European mindset. I am not convinced that we can understand all the forces at work or the full ramifications of the various options available to the Turkish government or society. In fact, I am not sure that we understand the options that are closed off to them that we, in our society, would take for granted are available.

In this case Mr. Wittman proposes that the secular societal movers and shakers, along with the military are lined up almost totally against the allowing of the camel's nose to get under the tent and stay there. We, in our Western mindset, would likely say something like, "Oh, what is the harm? It is just a head scarf. Can't everyone just be reasonable?" Fortunately or not, the Turks are looking at the issue in the context of the events that have occurred, or are occurring in the Islamic crescent of countries. They are well aware of what happened when the Islamic fundamentalists threw out the Shah of Iran. They see what is happening with the whole Palestinian situation, and while they might not be highly sympathetic towards Israel, they don't want that problem on Turkish soil. And again, they can surely see the hand of the Iranian mullahs in that mess. Fundamentalist Islam again.

The Turks, particularly their military, are well aware of the fate of Afghanistan when the Taliban little by little took power. They see the determination of the Taliban to get back in power, and the ends that they are willing to go to achieve that end.

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