The Turkish theologist who stopped wearing the headscarf

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Giving the grey Ruhr Valley a green future

Giving the grey Ruhr Valley a green future

Published: 6 May 08 17:09 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/11733/

Once a sooty part of the Ruhr Valley, Dortmund’s Hörde district is going green. Kinia Adamczyk examines a project aiming to turn an industrial relic into a city of the future.

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I just wanna be a woman, but it ain't easy...

KONYA- Turkey. When I presented the views of a feminist who held the headscarf is a symbol of patriarchy and a violation of human rights, a classmate of mine gracefully suggested I "buy myself a brain."

(NB- I made sure to add it to my shopping list... still on the lookout)

After spending a weekend with more than a hundred headscarf-wearing women, I saw the other perspective, or shall I say perspectives.

(Adding a dollop of cheese: I came to the "Women's Meeting" with some fears and questions, but left with 100 sisters. I can hear the squeals of dismay- why look, she is just trying to be politically-correct on that picture! What a show!)

No matter how open you try to be, I think it is very hard to put yourself in the shoes of someone who has strong faith when you yourself do not have the same degree of belief. (I tried, I came as close as I think I can.)

But I developed much empathy for a girl who snuck into school at 6 am before the police came to order students to take the scarf off. Or for a woman who shaved her head, and countless ones who quit their jobs because their faith was more important to them.

It would be easy to ask- why don't you just take it off for a few hours, for a little bit? But you cannot. One woman told me: if you believe, you believe and you can't question what God asks you to do.

It is not much of a stretch to say that for a woman who wear the scarf, taking it off is almost like for a non-headscarf-wearing woman to be told to uncover her chest. (I can hear the cries of opposition and grumbling... but that is the closest comparison I can make at this point to illustrate what these women told me.)


Regardless-

When I mentioned this empathy to a self-proclaimed secular woman, I came under fire. How could I possibly think like that? I should feel sorry for her, she told me, because she is afraid Turkey will become like Iran or Saudi Arabia. Women who wear the scarf are "the enemy of secular women like me," she said. She has no respect for her PM, her president and his covered wife, she said.

"Turkey is a secular country, with a secular government, and that's how it will stay," she said.

I was told that America and the West think everyone should be free to wear what they want- but in Turkey it's more complicated. So I should look at this issue from the "right perspective." Which is???

If looks could kill, I wouldn't be here to write this note.

Whatever you think about the HS here, you will find someone who doesn't like what you think. After a few weeks in Turkey, I think I understand the issue a little bit better.

My partial conclusion? It's too bad it divides women into the "covered" category and the "uncovered" one. The resulting political debate turns women into objects, creatures people criticize and think they can decide for. It's too bad it turns the attention away from other fundamental issues, like violence against women, or the quality of education or of the health care system. Oh, if we could just live and let live!

And I, sadly, by writing this note, am contributing to this categorization of women, to my dismay.

(Maybe I can make up for it in further writing...)

One woman told me: I am not a headscarf- I am a woman. And all of us are different.

Yet from the looks of the debate, commentary in the press and people's attitude, this piece of fabric will stay on the central stage for a long time...


CODA: After all these experiences, I have come to believe it is easy to sit in your ivory tower- of course, reading your dose of media to be "informed" - watch customs you are not used to from far away, and have an opinion about it all. Without talking to the people who are actually involved in the issue at stake.

It is much harder to come out and try to understand the customs without feeling threatened. But also a lot more rewarding.

For me, and ideal world would be one where women could wear what they feel good in. Where they wouldn't feel they have to protect themselves from male violence or stares, whether that implies covering your head of avoiding certain places. A world where my (potentially future) daughters could feel safe anywhere, regardless of their attire. And a world where women- and humans- are not divided into politically-motivated categories (which doesn't make me a Marxist).

That's just the beginning. Ahhh, utopias...

Whatever you are, come

They were whirling
The soft sound of leather shoes shuffling silently
on the wooden ground
Sufi sound...
Round and round in a circle
Quietly, peacefully
Inhaling Allah into their souls
And spreading peace to those surrounding them
The Mevlevi of Konya

"Come, Come again ! Whatever you are... Whether you are infidel, idolater or fireworshipper. Whether you have broken your vows of repentance a hundred times This is not the gate of despair, This is the gate of hope. Come, come again... "
Hz. Mevlana

How Turkey Stole My Heart. Plus: the Headscarf Discovery Continues.

Today I had my first conversation with a woman wearing the headscarf. I had interviewed covered women in Utrecht, but it wasn’t a heartfelt talk, just rather flat exchanges of information.

Feyza works for the Ministry of Religious Affairs of Turkey. She has the sweetest voice ever: I’m sure it would soothe any angry child. She is here in Konya for a conference of the Women’s Platform, about whose activities I will find out about this weekend.

We spoke briefly, but I felt totally at ease.

Of course, my attitude might seem strange. But the headscarf is not part of the culture I grew up in, or in my close “interactive” culture. I never had any covered classmates or friends. It’s just something that seemed “different”, something I couldn’t comprehend. Something I felt shy to ask about.

Besides, in Turkey, it is such a potent social political symbol at the root of much debate and discussion… Not only in Turkey actually. One way or another, my conversation with Feyza has opened a new door for me, a door of comfort and openness. I am not shy to ask anymore.

And this weekend in Konya, in central Turkey (the home of the famous Sufi mystic Rumi and of the twirling Dervishes) I will have the opportunity to speak to women who wear the scarf and who will be open to answering my questions.

…

Turks often add the suffix cim (jim) when speaking to you- eg. Kiniacim. It means Kinia dear. Also, relationships between people, even in academia are less formal than elsewhere. Not less polite, but warmer, more engaged, not as distant as I have experienced in Canada. The women I have interviewed (heads of NGOs, department chairs) have quickly adopted the second-person approach with me. And I feel like they make my project their cause.

I’ve been feeling this sense of euphoria this week (although I’m tired from enjoying the Istanbul nightlife!) regarding my relations with people.

They are just SO KIND. Everyone goes out of their way to help me. I have lost count of the people who have walked me to a bus, to a destination, escorted me. Doesn’t matter if sometimes it took them 30 minutes, they took the time for me. OK- taxi drivers have tried to charge me the night rate during the day every time, but I have been fed for free (even in cafés) or have been charged lower prices for food on many, many occasions.

When I flew into Konya, the airports electrician took me all the way to my hotel (about 45 minutes). He got people from the car rental agency to drive me closer to the center, then he took a dolmus (public taxi) to the Rixos with me. Not sure if that would happen in Canada.

Sure, I may sound a bit naïve and too optimistic, but really, the social culture in Turkey and Konya has been very welcoming.

I am charmed. Turkey has stolen my heart.

What are women born for? Not to provoke men?

People see what they want to see, Canan Arin replied to me when I told her lots of Europeans saw Turkey as a traditionalist, conservative country.

I feel like in most European cities here in Istanbul, except that I do get a few more stares from men. But I must say I was surprised by the "level of modernity" here. We really do tend to put Muslim heritage societies into one bag. However, Istanbul feels very secular, and I feel at home.

Canan Arin (photo: radikal.com) struck me as a beautiful and strong person the moment I met her. Wearing a colorful shirt, her eyes sparkling behind her glasses, she quickly ran out of her office to move her car as soon as I came in. Like most Istanbulites, she must deal with the city's notoriously thick traffic when driving to her office in Taksim.

I had time to look at all the eclectic paraphernalia in her office: clearly she had traveled the world. She is against "any injustice at birth" and that's what drives her in her fight for equality between women and men. She believes the headscarf to be a violation of human rights: if women are to cover their hair, their faces, to stay at home, then "what are we born for?" Arin asks. Not to provoke men?

Arin is a lawyer and a leading feminist here in Turkey. She co-founded many associations to combat violence against women, including the well-known women's shelter MorÇati- Purple Roof.

Arin is only one of the inspiring women I will speak with during my stay in Turkey. I was pleasantly surprised at how enthusiastically a well-known journalist, a researcher and Arin herself responded to my request for an interview.

I though it would be much more difficult. I thought there would be more no's and I'm-too-busy's.

I would like to dedicated a full article to Arin. She has been written about more than once, but her combat for the rights and equality of women is one that deserves many pages and much praise.

We all bleed red, from East to West

Istanbul-- 23 years and 30 countries behind me, I have realized we are really the same. Yes, I know I'm not the first one coming to this conclusion.

I have been in the homes of people in Guatemala, the US, Serbia - Kosovo, Macedonia, Poland, and well, most countries of Europe, Morocco, now Turkey.

On the outside, some of us wear veils, others shorter skirts and hats, religious symbols in some cases, in others none.

But in the home, most human beings try to build a cocoon of comfort, love, family space, where guests are celebrated, offered food, drink and hospitality.

Sometimes we don't speak with the same alphabet, but the language of laughter, smiles and pats on the back allows us to communicate. Besides, it's not so hard to learn thank you in other languages.

Like millions before me, I have now experienced Turkish hospitality in more than one home.

Yesterday, it was in the company of Alp, his wife Serap (picture on top) and her parents who hosted us for dinner. The table was full of dolma, sarma, bulgur, different salads, sauces, cakes... and that was only the beginning. Tea was accompanied by so many deserts I can't even name them all.

The grandfather treated us to a tambur concert after dinner. The Turkish quarter-tone harmonies emanated from the strings and echoed in the case, reminding me a bit of a bagpipe.

In the home, at the table, it is easy to forget we are from different countries. We are just plain human beings.

...

12 hours later, May 1, holiday- worker's day

There are demonstrations on Taksim square- the center of new Istanbul. Police are using tear gas... so I am staying home. Although as a journalist, I would love to see it first-hand.

My host is there- I lent her my goggle so she can protect herself from the gas.

(Picture: May 1 2007)

From Hürriyet news

Turkish labor unions call off planned Taksim May Day celebration march

Turkey's leading labor unions on Thursday called off their planned march to Istanbul's Taksim Square as part of the May Day celebrations. Labor Unions Confederation (DISK) Chairman Suleyman Celebi said the unions would end the march in the Sisli district of Istanbul as they did not want to be seen as the government’s provocation mechanism. Turkey's major labor unions were planning to celebrate May 1 Workers' Day at Istanbul's Taksim Square but the government cited security reasons as the justification for refusing to grant permission.

DISK Chairman Suleyman Celebi told reporters on Thursday that together with Confederation of Public Sector Unions (KESK) Chairman Ismail Hakki Tombul and Turkish Confederation of Labor (Turk-Is) Secretary General Mustafa Turkel, they decided not to push workers towards Taksim Square for a colossal meeting.

"Now we are ending the celebrations with common sense, because we don’t want to be seen as the government’s provocation mechanism," Celebi told reporters on Thursday.

"We wanted to gather in Taksim (square) to express our demands with an enthusiastic festival. Now, all squares and the whole Turkey have become Taksim," he said.

Police wearing gas masks first broke up a crowd which had gathered in front of the DISK office in Istanbul’s central business and residential Sisli district with the intention of walking to Taksim.

Police, blocking all streets leading to Taksim, also broke up groups of workers trying to enter the square through various alternative routes, firing tear gas and beating some demonstrators with clubs.

Some demonstrators were seen throwing rocks at police. Journalists and people trying to get to work were also affected by the tear gas fired at the demonstrators.

The Turkish government had insisted on its rejection to lift the decades-long ban and open Taksim for celebrations despite pressure from the country’s leading unions, which represent around 3 million workers.

Turkish officials cited security concerns and warned on provocative actions during the celebrations, while unions vowed to celebrate May Day peacefully in Taksim with an estimated 500,000 people.

Turkey banned May Day celebrations in Taksim Square after 36 people were killed on May 1, 1977; a date since referred to as the "Bloody May 1." This event is seen as a turning point in Turkish history and an important factor that paved the way for the military coup in 1980. Still-unidentified armed men opened fire on the crowd of some 1-million-people attending the celebrations. The clashes between left and right political groups in the 1970s had brought Turkey to the brink of civil war.

DISK last year attempted to breach the ban and hold celebrations in Taksim. But clashes erupted between the demonstrators and police forces, wounding tens of people. Some 1,000 people were taken into custody in 2007.

The Turkish government has decided to celebrate May Day as "Labor and Solidarity Day," but declined to declare it a national public holiday.

Observers say the Turkish government is reluctant to lift the ban due to concerns that it could turn into a mass anti-AKP rally over the controversial social security law.

No scarves in Istanbul med school. So far.

It's quiet in IU's med school library. Only a few typing sounds emerging from below the fingers of the medicine students who are wearing white frocks.

It's a busy faculty, with over 9000 students. I'm working in the library, which looks out onto the Marmara sea, while my friend Rabia attends her psychiatry class.

We have a 40-cent (delicious) lunch in the uni's cafeteria. I don't see any student wearing a headscarf.

I'm fascinated by the headscarf. I guess it's a powerful social and religious symbol- that's why I'm fascinated.

Imagine: one line in the Q'ran advising women to cover their heads... and what ensues are decades of social debate, sometimes conflict, talk of freedom of expression, of religion.

Rabia's friends are über-friendly and talkative. We sit in the sun on campus and talk about traveling, the scarf (surprise, surprise), politics, parties. Everyone is smiling.

Of course, there are med students who wear the scarf, but I haven't seen any yet. I would like to talk to girls who wear the scarf. It somehow seems so much easier to address the issue here, because it is at the heart of national debate.

...Especially since the headscarf ban in universities was lifted in Turkey on Feb. 9, 2008.

How to pack 7 days within 48 hours

My phone was ringing non-stop this morning. Welcome calls from my new Turkish friends. Of course, courtesy of couchsurfing. Alp, Dogan, Fatma... Just overwhelming kindness.

My host Özge spent all morning helping me research and set up interviews: I have 3 set up already. I love this country. I think I won't have problems with finding sources in this city of over 12 million people.

In the afternoon- a short stroll through Sultanahmet- in the rain- and köfte (meetballs) at Sultanahmet Köftecisi, one of the best-known ın Istanbul. A jump ınto the Russian district. I was greeted with zdrastvoitie in all the shoe shops there. Discovered the local warning code: if someone lifts your wındshield wiper, you shouldn't park there anymore. You're not welcome.

This is my second night in Istanbul, and I am spending it at Rabia's place- a girl I met traveling from Bosnia to Montenegro last year.

In less than 48 hours, I took the ferry, different minibuses, the taxi, the metro, the bus and the tram. Oh, and a Turkish plane :) I feel like I've been here for at least a week!

Istanbul, sweet Istanbul.

From Istanbul wıth love

27 April, Istanbul, Day 1

A baptism by fire. In Istanbul, the city of thousands of years of history, culture and wonders.

My couchsurfing host was quite busy the day I arrived, so I headed out to the city on my own. There I had a different experience surfing: through people, that is. Istikal, the main street in Taksim, or new part of Istanbul, is gorged with people flowing back and forth.

Out of this sea of people emerges a tram that resembles a whale rising out of the water. The pedestrians make way nonchalantly. Music spills out of one shop more colorful than the other, drowning out the calls for prayer echoing through Istanbul’s hundreds of mosques. Istiklal pulsates with life, energy trickling from it into the perpendicular streets to it filled with cafés, Istanbulites smoking narghileh and mountains of fresh fish, fruit and sweets.

The city has embraced me, as a have embraced her. Chaotic, vibrant, delicious, old, new, conservative, flirty, religious, secular. Istanbul is all of that.

I tried to blend into the crowd of the city’s millions of inhabitants. Have the “I know where I’m going look on my face”. I walked down the hill to the Bosphorus on the Anatolian side, took the ferry to Beşiktaş as if I had done it all of my life, and caught a Dolmuş (collective taxi) that took me into Taksim, where I met up with Sinan, a couchsurfer I met in Dortmund.

On the menu: lamb kebap, local ice cream, narguileh, coffee at the faculty of law where Sinan studies, çaj, a view of the Bosphorus on a terrasse in one of Fransız street’s dozens of cafés. Already feels like home. I guess sometimes you just have to jump right into it, even if it's a bit scary.