Turkish pianist Fazil Say received a suspended 10-month jail term on Monday for mocking Islam on Twitter. Secular Turks have become increasingly concerned over what they see as the creeping Islamization of society.
"Honestly, we were not expecting this ruling, and all I can
say is, both legally and for the country, it's a sad decision,"
Say's lawyer Meltem Akyol told Reuters.
The blasphemy charges were brought against Say in June last year.
In their suit, prosecutors cited several sarcastic messages about believers and Islamic
concepts of Heaven. The musician, who has served as a cultural
ambassador to the European Union, denied the accusations.
RT’s Maria Finoshina reported from Turkey how residents are
concerned by the growing dominance of Islamic values: Censorship is
imposed on TV shows, museums are turned into mosques, and attempts
are even being made to introduce Ottoman-style uniforms for flight
attendants.
Turkish women fear their rights are being infringed even though
they are seemingly free to wear and do what they want.
“The reformed education system is split into three parts of four
years each, the result - thousands of girls leave school before the
end, encouraging young marriages. The state promotes having at
least five kids. Only three out of ten women today go to work. It’s
far from a democratic model of society,” says Şenal Sarihan,
the head of the group Women of the Republic.
The Turkish opposition speaks of a dangerous tendency: nine decades
after Turkey broke with the Islamic rule of the Ottoman Empire in
favor of an anti-clerical, pro-Western vision, the ideas and values
that were rejected appear to some to be making a comeback.
“We are very concerned because Turkey is a secular democracy.
But Islam has become the only reference. It says what to do, what
to wear, what to eat, what not to eat,” Faruk Logoglu, CHP
party vice-chairman said.
Turkey under Erdogan has made impressive progress. Its economy is
booming and its role in the region and internationally, is
increasing. Now, the secular part of the Turkish society is worried
all of that could be harmed by Turkey getting ultra-religious and
going the Ottoman empire way.