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There is no “Turkish Arab Spring”

Sun, 23 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000

We landed at Atatürk International early last Friday with the impression from American media that Turkey was falling apart. But much of what we experienced this past weekend in Istanbul contradicted that narrative. We were left wondering whether the political situation is really a “crisis,” and, if so, what kind it was. We set out to talk to Turks beyond the media filter, trying to find out how they viewed things.

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From the airport our cab made it to the Eyüp Sultan Mosque—also popularly called Abu Ayyub Ansari’s mosque after one of the Prophet Muhammad’s companions who’s buried beside it—just at the beginning of the call to prayer. When Haroon first visited it 21 years ago, hardly a soul was to be found. When Wajahat first visited 16 years back, there were only a couple of women in hijab, or headscarf. But on that morning, hundreds, including many veiled women, showed up over an hour before the congregational services, on a weekday no less, to hear recitations of the Qur’an and collectively pray. Times change and so does Turkey.

“I’ve gone to resist, I’ll be right back”

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 23:20:00 +0000

ISTANBUL - The struggle that exploded on May 31 to fight neoliberal urban renewal -- and specifically the demolition of a park in central Istanbul -- has surpassed its original goals, and transformed into a full fledged uprising against a democratically elected yet authoritarian regime. Although it began in Gezi Park, which neighbors the central square of Istanbul, Taksim Square, the uprising has quickly spread across the city and to the whole country.

Unrelenting in their determination to stay in the streets, huge crowds have also gathered day after day in Ankara and Izmir as well as in other smaller cities. Three demonstrators have died and four others are currently in critical condition. This is in addition to more than 6000 injured people, including 10 who have lost eyes. The uprising has dominated the national discourse for more than two weeks as the country goes through the largest and longest urban popular revolt it has ever seen. It is now being regarded as a momentous political awakening for a whole generation.

Slideshow: Turmoil and tear gas in Istanbul’s Gezi Park

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 16:29:00 +0000

Earlier this week, my wife and I got caught in the battle for Gezi Park in Istanbul. What follows are photos depicting how the government is crushing the people who still fight for freedom of expression and assembly -- with police trapping them and firing into the park, as well as into buildings and at ambulances.

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Turkey’s Twitter “curse”

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 22:20:00 +0000

When I finally reached Zeynep Tufekci on the phone Monday morning she sounded both harried and excited. The University of North Carolina professor is currently a fellow at the Center for Information Technology at Princeton, where she specializes in the intersection of social media and the political process. She also happens to be a native of Turkey. The outburst of a massive protest in Istanbul over the weekend, fueled by Twitter and Facebook, hit her right where she lives, both personally and academically. On Saturday, she posted an insightful analysis of the events taking place in Turkey on her own blog. By Monday, her phone was ringing off the hook, even as she tried to keep up with the startling events in her home country.

In Turkey, what started as a small group of protesters attempting to stop the bulldozing of some trees in a public park developed with startling speed into a huge mass demonstration -- all in the absence of any meaningful coverage from traditional media outlets. Tufekci took some time out from her crazy morning to share her insights into the specifics of Turkey's situation, as well as explore the larger question of how social-media protests fit into the political process.