A series of incidents in June and a debate over an Istanbul mosque demonstrated that an anti-Muslim mindset prevails in Türkiye, though not as strong as it was in the past.
Cases of discrimination, especially against headscarf-wearing women, sparked concerns over a social division that has evolved over decades.
In Mersin, a woman wearing a burkini was denied entry to a swimming pool in the residential complex she lives in. The case triggered a legal investigation, and the pool employee denying access was detained on charges of inciting public hatred and insult.
In another case, a video released on social media by a woman living in Istanbul calling for “destroying headscarf-wearing women” sparked outrage, and the woman was subsequently detained on charges similar to the case in Mersin. Days later, a video of a man harassing two young women over their headscarves at a supermarket in Antalya’s Kaş district emerged. One of the women in the video filed a criminal complaint against the man who was detained later.
Though they seem like isolated incidents, the anti-Muslim sentiment also resurfaced in Zonguldak. A group of people in the northern city staged a protest calling for “secularism to be implemented” after the images of young students celebrating their completion of Quran classes at a ceremony in the city emerged. Similarly, social media was awash with anti-Muslim comments when a video of a group of young girls wearing Muslim outfits as they celebrated completion of Quran courses in the eastern city of Batman surfaced.
These incidents and outrage preceded with a public debate and protests over a mosque planned to be built in Kadıköy, a district on Istanbul’s Asian side. The mosque, currently under construction after a court greenlit it by dismissing opposition, will be a prominent place of worship on the Kadıköy waterfront, a busy quarter of the city home to Ottoman-era and modern mosques. Supporters of the mosque cite the need for bigger mosque in the area whose population has significantly expanded in recent years, while opponents claim it is not necessary and point out “nearby mosques.”
The incidents prompted criticism from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who championed an end to bans targeting Muslims, especially headscarf-wearing women. In a speech last Thursday, Erdoğan reiterated how they have worked to defend the dignity, honor and freedoms of people who have been sidelined and mistreated. He noted that people voted for his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) to ensure that “those who suffered under the oppression of the perpetrators of the Feb. 28 process would never again be subjected to the same tyranny.”
Feb. 28 refers to the 1997 coup and the date powerful military elite issued a stern ultimatum to the government against “reactionary threat,” a derogatory term used to describe conservative Muslims. Before the ultimatum led to the collapse of the government within months, Muslim men and women were targets of a witch hunt by a coalition of elites, from military and judiciary to bureaucracy. Girls wearing headscarfves were barred from attending schools unless they removed their headscarves, while men in the public sector were blacklisted or fired from their jobs for performing prayers or simply growing a beard in the fashion of conservative Muslims. Long after the collapse of the coalition government, those practices continued, with the purpose of excluding practicing Muslims from social spaces. Civil servants lost their jobs for wearing headscarf or praying five times a day as their faith required. A large number of girls, including the daughters of Erdoğan, were among those affected by the bans, forcing to study abroad.
Erdoğan defined the recent incidents as “attempts by voices of arrogance to silence, intimidate and threaten the silent majority.” “We will not allow the revival of an oppressive mindset that still longs for the Feb. 28 era,” he said.
