Turkish Cypriots feel secular life under threat скачать в хорошем качестве

Turkish Cypriots feel secular life under threat

(27 Nov 2017) LEADIN: A resurgence of Islam in breakaway northern Cyprus, with the construction of scores of new mosques and the importation of hundreds of Imams, has some Turkish Cypriots fearing that their secular way of life is being assailed with Turkey using the faith as a means to expand its control over them. Turkish Cypriot religious and education leaders dismiss such fears as unfounded, arguing that what's happening is simply the restoration of Islam at the traditional core of Turkish Cypriot life. STORYLINE: At over 200 feet, the four black-coned minarets of the unfinished Hala Sultan mosque tower over the flat plain of Mesaoria on the northern, breakaway Turkish Cypriot part of ethnically divided Cyprus. The imposing Turkish-funded structure which is believed to be the largest mosque built on this tiny, east Mediterranean island will hold as many as 3,000 worshippers beneath its massive domes. The mosque has become emblematic of fears held by some Turkish Cypriots that a resurgence of the Islamic faith is a direct assault on their long-held secular way of life and a means by which Turkey can further expand and entrench its control over all facets of their 270,000-strong community. Religious leaders and education authorities in the north counter such talk as baseless fear-mongering among a radically secular few. Here at the Ayia Sophia/Selimiye Mosque the faithful pray together as they have always done. They insist what's happening is the restoration of Islam at the core of Turkish Cypriots' collective identity as it has been for centuries. Leftist Turkish Cypriots have long bemoaned Turkey's high-handed ways with Turkish Cypriots, especially after the island was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded in the wake of a coup by supporters of union with Greece. But the issue has again come to the fore after a promising round of talks with the majority Greek Cypriots to reach a reunification deal failed in the summer. Only Turkey recognises a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence and keeps more than 35,000 troops in the north. Apart from projecting the image as the protector of Turkish-speaking peoples, Turkey feels that it's earned the right to play an outsize role in Turkish Cypriot affairs because it bankrolls the north to the tune of over a quarter billion euros annually. Ozyigit and Sener Elcil, the head of the 1,600-strong primary school teachers' union KTOS have been among the most vocal critics of Turkey's pervasive and expanding influence in the north. Both men say that in the past, hard nationalism and militarism were the traditional mechanisms of control. Now, they've been augmented with religion. Elcil says that, as he has done in his own country over 14 years of rule, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is using Islam to consolidate his political control over the north. He says as many as 400 Imams have been dispatched "acting like missionaries" to service mosques and give lessons on the teachings of the Quran, Islam's holy book. "We're in danger now as a community because we're under bombardment of (the) Sunni faith," Elcil says, adding that Imams are directing their messages to young people and especially children of mainland Turks who settled in the north. "If we're going like that in ten years...religion will be a conflict point in Cyprus also." Ozyigit says the children of mainland Turks are being targeted for religious education "to speed up the change" toward a stricter adherence to Islamic precepts and code of conduct, unlike many Turkish Cypriots he described as "softer Muslims" who consume alcohol - a practice Islam forbids. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...