Kemalism v. Islamism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjjY750wTs0

Here's a great video clip demonstrating how Islamism under the AKP in Turkey is different than extremist Islam. I was pleased to hear the Evangelical comparison which I believe to be accurate.

I've often mentioned how the Erdogan's AKP is akin to Dobson and Focus and the Family. They don't want to persecute secularists, they just want the government to favour their religion and they want their society's laws to reflect their values. Secularists will feel oppressed but not persecuted.

The hardliners go much further and would mandate their religious vision and persecute those who would not follow it. This is true of Theonomy and other forms of hardliner or militant Christianity.

While American political hardliners will still be hostile to the AKP, the difference needs to be understood. People like Newt Gingrich will push for American intervention and perhaps another military coup. This will only alienate the Turkish people and further open the door for extreme forms of Islam. If you want a repeat of Iran in 1979 then keep pushing the situation in Turkey. American intervention will only exacerbate the situation. There are deep divides in their society and for a long time they've been able to coexist. But in the post-Cold War era, Turkey's role and economic realities are changing and this has brought these tensions to a point of crisis. Will Ataturk's vision survive?