A Question of Belief

Published in Comment is Free - The Guardian, 29 April 2008

Debates about apostasy, or conversion from Islam, have bubbled away for some time. Occasionally an example of the treatment of converts hits the headlines. Yet, each time much of the debate has centred on whether the Islamic position clashes with contemporary ideals of human rights.

In fact, the Qur'an does not prescribe an earthly punishment for apostasy. Examples of the imprisonment, punishment and threat of death against apostates are therefore sometimes dismissed as the activities of extremists and for most people this is where the conversation ends. Yet the bulk of the problem remains untouched.

Apostasy is not merely a theoretical debate; it is a growing and often overlooked human rights concern. As a Turkish convert from Islam to Christianity, I am no stranger to the subject and over the last year, commissioned by Christian Solidarity Worldwide, I have researched the daily pressures faced by apostates in Iran, Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, Kuwait and the UK. Our findings are published today.

It is true that the death penalty is rarely applied today. Out of 44 predominantly Muslim countries in the world, only a few have laws on apostasy. In Sudan and in some states in Malaysia, capital punishment is permitted. In Saudi Arabia, Mauritania and Iran, death remains a real possibility for the convert as although it is not specified in law, the countries can invoke this penalty through their application of sharia.

Yet it is not just under the threat of death that converts suffer. Egypt has laws which can be used to annul the marriages of converts and remove custody and inheritance rights. In countries such as Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Yemen, where sharia is used to govern matters of personal status, converts can face serious penalties, such as the annulment of marriage, termination of citizenship, confiscation of identity papers and the loss of further social and economic rights, even though there are no specific regulations on apostasy. These converts may still be physically alive, but the penalties can render them legally 'dead'.

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Sadly the human rights abuses faced by converts do not end there. Some of the other violations include extrajudicial killings by state-related agents or mobs; "honour" killings by family members; detention, imprisonment, torture, physical and psychological intimidation by security forces and the denial of access to judicial services and social services.

Even though reformist Muslims in the west argue that the death penalty cannot be justified on the basis of the Qur'an, traditional views which build on the sunna and its interpretations continue to shape how Muslims living in the non-western world see apostasy. No religious community develops its theology on the basis of its religious texts alone, but interpretation and application of the teachings of its sacred book is often dictated by its tradition. Arguments about the exact text of Qur'an do little to help apostates suffering gross human rights abuses today. Sadly, there are hardly any Muslim leaders and writers living in the Muslim world who challenge these practices.

Muslim nations continue to fail in their obligations under international law to protect their own citizens. Islamic human rights documents, such as the Universal Islamic Human Rights Declaration, the Cairo Declaration and the Arab Charter on Human Rights, airbrush the suffering of converts and make no attempt to hold governments accountable.

In March, the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution on the defamation of Islam, echoing an earlier resolution by the UN general assembly which followed intense lobbying by the Organisation of the Islamic Conference. These resolutions make it almost impossible to speak up for those who are persecuted for exercising their right to choose a religion or belief as enshrined by the universal declaration of human rights.

Through my research, a tragic picture emerges. Converts live in a no-man's land; isolated from their native communities, haunted by the actions of their states, burdened by the vulnerability of their families and overlooked by the international community.

One convert told me in an interview that when he was subjected to torture in a Middle Eastern country, his torturer told him he could scream as loud as he wanted, but no one would hear or save him. When he realised this was true, he broke down and has never really recovered from the damage caused by his detention. For too long the experiences of men and women like him to go unnoticed. The Muslim world and the international community must not allow these cries for help to be swept under the carpet any more.

On being a Muslim apostate and writing on apostasy

Published in Turkish Daily News, 29 April 2008

Download the report: No Place to Call Home; Experiences of Apostates from Islam and Failures of the International Community




I have always been amused by which dimensions of my identity are picked up on by presenters, chairpersons and journalists when introducing me. If the talk or the article is on Turkish-Armenian issues, my “Turkishness” assumes center stage. If it is for an intellectual audience, my academic credentials, particularly the fact that I have studied a wide range of issues on three different continents, are emphasized. Whenever I speak to or write for a Christian audience, the “miracle” that I am a Turkish Christian becomes my main source of credibility. It seems that the Christian world, just like my fellow Turkish citizens, sees the phrase “Turkish Christian” as an oxymoron. There is one more element of who I am that never sits comfortably with me but seems to draw increasing attention; I am a Muslim apostate.

Bashing Islam and Muslims?:

The word creates instant interest and disgust. In both cases, everyone assumes what you will say next. It creates feelings of sympathy and comradeship in those who tend to have a negative, black and white view of Muslim societies. Most non-Muslims expect you to show, or help them to prove, the “true face of Islam” and want to know how you have come to “realize the higher culture” of the religion you converted to. The word also creates strong emotions among Muslims who live in a negative, black and white view of the world. Most Muslims assume that you will sing the common tune of apostates who seem to be driven a sense of purpose, or a sense of revenge, in life by bashing Islam and the Muslim world.

I have often struggled while telling people that I am an apostate. In the Muslim world, it was more a fear of serious repercussions and in the West because of these preconceived glasses that people use to view me. I simply do not fit to these categories. I find myself culturally at home in the Muslim world and often defend Islam when it is being reduced to terrorism and violence. I also continue to speak up for Muslims when they face racist attacks, renditions and indefinite detentions. This shocks Westerners. Yet, I also shock Muslims, when I criticize them with the truth that Muslim societies rank at the top of human rights abuses lists.

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One current example of this is a report I was commissioned to write on the experiences of apostates from Islam by a British human rights organization. I spent an entire year conducting interviews in Iran, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Turkey and the U.K. with apostates and spent most of my time surveying the legal situation in the world’s 44 Muslim-majority countries, as well as Islamic theology and jurisprudence and international law. The report, “No Place to Call Home: Experiences of Apostates from Islam and Failures of the International Community,” has created both great interest and great disgust, all in one go.

Findings of the report:

During the writing of the report, I had to face the sad fact that apostasy is not a mere theoretical debate on whether or not the Koran and the Hadith prescribe the death penalty, but that it is an overlooked human rights concern. Apostates are subjected to gross and wide-ranging human rights abuses, including extra-judicial killings by state-related agents or mobs; honor killings by family members; detention, imprisonment, torture, physical and psychological intimidation by security forces; the denial of access to judicial services and social services; the denial of equal employment or education opportunities; social pressure resulting in the loss of housing and employment; and day-to-day discrimination and ostracism in educational, financial and social activities.

For some Muslims, writing a report that shows this and provides a legal, theological and socio-political framework to analyze the problem is already proof that I am an Islam-hating, lying, defaming apostate. For others, I seem to be fulfilling my role as an Islam-hating whistle blower. For my concerned friends, I am a fool who is taking a high personal risk of being persecuted by my own state or the countries I travel in, of being attacked physically by Islamists, purists or just irrational nationalists. For my family, all of whom are still Muslims, I am continuing to bring shame on them and becoming famous for all the wrong reasons. That is why my wise friends regularly advise me to write under a pseudonym, but I will never do so. Why? Why am I writing on this issue if I am not an Islam-hater or an ally of Western right-wing politics?

For the tears of others:

It is because I have looked into the eyes of people in a wide range of Muslim countries, including Turkey, who are subjected to the most grotesque persecution just because they have sought to exercise their most fundamental right to choose a religion or belief and live accordingly. One apostate who was subjected to torture and solitary confinement in a Middle Eastern country told me that his torturers mockingly told him to scream as loud as he could because no one would hear him and run to his aid. The apostate said that this was what broke him down, not the physical damage: To realize that he was in fact all alone in a small and cold cell.

I owe it to people like him and many others who are in vulnerable and fragile conditions. That is why I write on apostasy, even though I have no interest whatsoever in attacking or defending Islam or in capitalizing on my own apostasy. I write, because perhaps my words may serve as the voice that has been taken away from these people by their communities and that has been muted by the international community. Perhaps… I write for myself… so that it is no longer just me who has to witness and carry the tears of others.

The problem with 'modern' Turks is... they are outdated

Published in Turkish Daily News, 08 April 2008

The English word “modern” has made its way into colloquial Turkish and is used interchangeably with its direct Turkish equal, “çağdaş,” which literally means “of the era.” Though the word “modern” in English still maintains the connotation of something that is up to date, such as a modern kitchen, it also signifies something belonging to modernity and modernism as the social condition and philosophy, which dominated late 19th and most of the 20th century.

In many ways, the “modern” is really no more “çağdaş.” We live in a completely different social condition, shaped by a completely different philosophy. Therefore, if I were to compliment an intellectual with the word “modern” today, it would be more of an insult. I would be suggesting that his or her ideas and reactions are passé and naïve, if not backward. Similarly, when a building is called “modern” in architecture, it refers to the concrete lumps of the previous century, which were built with the ideals of managing human beings as effectively as possible while maximizing cost and benefit, with no consideration of aesthetics and quality of life whatsoever.

Outdated Enlightenment:

Interestingly, when the word “modern” is used in Turkish, it is always a complement. Its unique use as a positive adjective includes a “modern person” and “modern society.” However, when we look at what a person must believe or do in order to be called “modern,” an irony surfaces. What is described as a “modern” outlook in Turkey is often nothing than the banal repetition of outdated Enlightenment ideals. Some of the “modern” myths that linger among us in their full pride are:

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* A country can only survive if it is a homogenized nation state that has to assimilate any different identity into a well-defined single type. Any element of difference -- language, ethnicity, religion and opinion -- is a threat to its existence.

* Citizens are part of a foolish herd that must be led, controlled and managed for their own sake, even against their own wishes.* The goal of education is to produce non-questioning and easily controllable citizens.

* Religious beliefs belong to the “dark ages.” If only we have more education and science, they would die out and everyone would be atheists. For now, we should make sure that it is limited to personal space.

These “modern” beliefs were, in fact, the glimpse of heaven promised by the “çağdaş” men of the 19th century. Yet, where we stand today is far from the anticipated Shangri-La.The modern vision is the very reason why the 20th century was one of the darkest ages of history. “Modern” ideals and know-how are two sizes too small for today's ever-obese global reality. As every futile attempt to cover global rips with local patches shows, we can no more share the optimism of the “modern” man who thinks, if only we have the commitment and strength, our future would be bright.

The only one who is not aware of this is the “modern” man. He walks our streets, full of himself, confident of the future that awaits him at the end of his path, like a sleepwalking French man who is consumed by his daydream that his culture, language and values present the pinnacle of human civilization, which everyone else envies or aspires to reach. One must be careful not to honor the “modern” man with the status of the lovable, but naïve, Don Quixote. “Modern” man is often dangerous, aggressive and poisoned by his self-confidence. He is loud and distractive, and if he only has his way, he will easily move beyond good and evil and push his black and white homogenized pill down our throats.

We need less ‘modern' Turks:

It is because we have so many “modern” Turks around that we are distracted from breaking the all-too-human cycles of Armenian-Turkish, Kurdish-Turkish, Secularist-Islamist conflicts. It is because of the “modern” vision that non-Muslims of Turkey have to continue to live in daily fear that at any moment a “modern” man who has the courage to face the challenge may put a bullet in their heads. It is because of the “modern” academics of our nation that Turkish universities, with the noble exception of a handful, are gigantic and distasteful sausage machines that produce non-analytical and démodé “modern” copycats. It is because of the “modern” leaders of our country that we face the risk of turning into an Amish or Hasidic community stuck in history, thinking that a certain previous century, with its aims, dress, language and strategies was the only and ideal ‘pure' and ‘real' moment.

So what we need least are more “modern” Turks. It is time for us to learn to see today's world as it is and not through outdated ideals. We urgently need more “çağdaş” Turks, who are able to look beyond the clichés of a past century and lead our nation to safety in this increasingly bleak age. We need high caliber pioneers, just like Mustafa Kemal was in his “çağ” (era)

Deconstructing old and new 'deep state'

Published in Turkish Daily News , 03 April 2008


For the outsider observing Turkey, the issue of the so-called "deep state" can be quite confusing, if not incomprehensible. Though the media and commentators regularly report their activities and allude to their dark relationships with state officials, often questions of who they are and why they are involved in such activities are omitted along with a deeper analysis as to the nature of their organization and how people are recruited into their ranks.This failure to analyze the "deep state" often leads to wrong conclusions, which attribute the activities of these groups directly to the Turkish State and Armed Forces. It would, in fact, be true to think so if the groups named broadly as "deep state" were like the ones that existed during the cold war and 70s. However, today's ‘deep state' is completely different and more dangerous than the earlier ones.

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After the cold war:

Though throughout the centuries rulers had their secret forces to do dirty jobs in order to maintain their power, during the cold war clandestine operations became national policies to fight an unconventional and secretive war with a vicious enemy. Intelligence and security forces worked alongside criminals, capable individuals and groups in secretive operations to send messages, control their societies and counterbalance their enemies' activities. Some elements of this still exist in Turkey and can be seen in the untold stories of how the Turkish armed forces and police force have tried to “solve” the Kurdish “problem.” With the end of the cold war these groups and individuals faced the cold space all alone. State policies, intelligence priorities and social tensions have evolved, making them redundant. Some simply adjusted to the new reality in full melancholy, others turned to becoming mercenaries, providing their expertise for money in the new market of civilian security.

Yet, once one gets used to confronting an archetypal enemy, life gets rather dull when the dragon is dead. So the knights roam the banal streets of our contemporary existence with a dragon-shaped vacuum in their hearts. Since fighting against a giant enemy provides a strong, clear and comforting identity and self-worth, the ex-knights are not only bored but also left in a void. And what value has a knight without a crusade? What's more, the knights have been declared useless once their expiration date has passed. Their mighty and most noble patron no longer needs, wants or employs them. Their societies do not know, value, cherish or care about them. From a firm belief in being the protectors and guardians of their societies, they face the anonymity and darkness of insignificance.

The curse of anonymity, insignificance and passive participation in an aggressive age affects all of us. The ratio of “losers,” who cannot make it or feel safe in this slippery century, increases every single day. For the economically and socially deprived, there is no chance of establishing a singular significance. One option they have is the possibility of being assimilated into a higher cause, with social ties with our ex-knights, whose former titles and relations are seductive for the sensually deprived. When the ex-knights and the deprived meet, their orgies become self-fulfilling and interdependent. They need each other to satisfy each other's deprivations.

Retired officers and protégés:

That is why the new deep "state" is formed by two particular groups: retired or redundant army or security officers and their committed protégés and foot soldiers. Together they make up the gang of final attempts to feel alive, resolute on finding and slaying enemies, in the process saving imagined kingdoms from imagined ills. Since it is almost impossible to clearly pinpoint enemies in this century, unlike during the cold war when one could look at a map and see who was with or against us, mistrust and conspiracy theories, along with a resentment of the “system,” mystify the state as well as its citizens. Everyone and everything is and can be the needed enemy; a nation, composed of zombie-like enemies, that needs to be protected from itself!

They find supporters, especially among mid-management levels of the state structures, in people who are equally “worried” about their nation, but most importantly frustrated with their lack of power or saying they have over the state of affairs, as their hands are tied and mouths are gagged by the state legislation for civil servants, called 657. Where lower and higher ranking civil servants have so much to lose by partaking in “deep state” and their actions are quite visible, middle management can usually find a secretive space where the risk is manageable. This makes the new “deep state” more dangerous than the old one, as the targets and means to deal with them are not controlled or commissioned by the state but are left at the mercy of a groups of thugs with their irrational rationalities. Unlike the old “deep state,” the links of the new ones to the state consist of individuals who are sympathizers and can do only so much for them. Therefore, stopping their activities becomes a difficult task, since these groups are only accountable to themselves.



The post-IRA example:

We have seen a similar pattern following the change in politics in Northern Ireland and the disarmament of the IRA. Yesterday's freedom fighters turned into today's nuisances very quickly, left without financial and social support. Some learned how to cope with the new era and find a safe place in it, but some evolved into thugs, adding a language of higher values to mere criminality and pursuits of money. And not so surprisingly, they also describe Ireland as having been “defeated” from within by weakened politicians who “sold out” their souls. We can show similar examples all across Africa, Latin America and Russia.

If this reading of the new “deep state” is correct, then the new school Turkish deep state, with its funny hairstyles and 60's fashion sense, is the disruptive emanation of the ghosts of a past century. As the global experience of similar ghost sightings show, when there is the political will, even the most “dangerous” ones can eventually be bought, rehabilitated or muted. So the main question isn't how deep their organization is, or what dirt can surface when their heydays are brought into the light. The main question is, does the Turkish government have the political will to do so?