Israel & Turkey: Repairing Relations, Leaving Gaza Behind?

On Friday, at the United Nations climate conference in Copenhagen, Israeli President Shimon Peres met his Turkish counterpart, President Abdullah Gul. Following Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak's acceptance of an invitation to Ankara, Gul agreed to consider Peres' invitiation to come to Israel.

During the meeting, Peres tried to deal with the underlying causes of tense Israeli-Turkish relations. He did not defend the "necessity" of the Gaza War, but he blamed Hamas of dragging Gazans into trouble. Peres added:

Israel seeks real, just peace with its neighbors and has announced its willingness to go to great lengths to achieve peace.

Gaza could have turned into a prosperous area under Abu Mazen [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas]. Unfortunately, Hamas murdered Fatah leaders in Gaza and is now gravely harming the Palestinian population. If Hamas changes course by recognizing Israel and denouncing terror, the face of Gaza will undergo an extreme change.

Israel & Turkey: Time to Repair Relations?

After Swiss Referendum on Minarets: Who is Radicalizing Whom?

On Sunday, 57 percent of Swiss people who took part in a referendum voted in favour of a ban on the construction of minarets. The proposal had been put forward by the Swiss People's Party (SVP), the largest party in parliament. Reaction to the Swiss people's decision was immediate, with criticisms appearing in visual and written media all over the world.

From inside, Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey stated that Muslims in Switzerland now faced a restriction on their freedom to express their religion. She added: "The reality of our societies, in Europe and in the world (is that) every blow to the co-existence of different cultures and religions also endangers our security."

Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said: "Concerns [about Islamic fundamentalism] have to be taken seriously. However, a ban on the construction of new minarets is not a feasible means of countering extremist tendencies."

The head of the Swiss Green Party, Ueli Leuenberger, pledged to support appeals against the ban to the European Court of Human Rights.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay called the ban a "deeply discriminatory, deeply divisive and a thoroughly unfortunate step for Switzerland to take." She added: "I have no hesitation at all in condemning the anti-foreigner scaremongering that has characterised political campaigns in a number of countries, including Switzerland, which helps produce results like this."

French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner called the ban "scandalous." Babacar Ba, a senior official of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, warned of an "upsurge in Islamophobia" in Europe. And the Vatican denounced the ban as an infringement of religious freedom.

Turkey is highly critical as well. Turkish President Abdullah Gul said: “This is a noteworthy example in terms of showing how animosity toward Islam, as we call it ‘Islamophobia,’ has been developing in the Western world. This is a disgrace for the Swiss.” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan added: “What is the relationship of a mosque minaret with fundamentalism? That is an outdated, primitive understanding.”

Besides, Amnesty International said the vote violated freedom of religion and would probably be overturned by the Swiss supreme court or the European Court of Human Rights.

After all, do you think that it was right to take the issue of constructing minarets to a referendum? Are minarets really a symbol of political Islam? If so, what makes minarets a symbol of a radical political goal?

What if "non-radical" Muslims in other countries start banning construction of bell towers of churches or banning the sound of bells coming from churches, thanks to the "democratic" decision of the Swiss people that, unfortunately, consolidates the very opposite perception- considering "the West" as "aggressive," "intolerant" and an "enemy of Islam?"

In the end, who is becoming radical?