Bekir Coskun: You're the ones who are changing

 
Even if you fight against it, or assert to yourselves from time to time "I have not changed," you are still one small piece of a larger "national change."
 
Here, let me list for you how much Turkey has changed, just in the last week:

 
-The Turkish Parliament commissions have consented to the "male nurses for males" law
 
-It has been confirmed that the city ferry boats being built by the Istanbul Municipality will in fact have one "mescit" or small prayer room each.
 
-In fitting with the old sharia rule of "Have as many children as possible," a new taxation system allows those who have many children to pay less in the way of taxes.
 
-A famous sculptor's statues in and around Izmir were broken in one night; the statues of women seemed to be a particular focus of this act
 
-It has been announced by religious circles that greetings like "Gunaydin," Merhaba," "Tunaydin," and "Iyi gunler" are not appropriate in religious contexts, and that instead, "Salaam aleikum" should be used.

-In just one day, there were seven different penalties meted out to the head inspector for the treasury looking into El Kadi, the man counted by the United Nations as an international terrorist, and about whom the Prime Minister himself said earlier "I know him, and will vouch for him."

All of the above are just some of the changes which have occured in Turkey this past week.
 
To continue with the changes though:
 
-Since clearing the way for the religious imam hatip high schools looks hard, in the state school curriculum to be used next year, all state primary schools in Turkey are going to be "imam hatipified." Which means children will be required to sketch out floor plans for mosques, they will watch CDs about going on the Hajj, and there will be practical practice of pre-prayer ablutions for everyone....

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So, from birth rates to childrens' education....from acts of hostiliity towards art to crime and punishment.....and from the mescits on our city ferries to our daily greetings to one another....
 
You are being changed little by little.....
 
And you are in fact changing.

While you can ask whether or not your friends have changed, the fact is that this whole entire society has been affected by the winds that blew in with this administration that you selected.

Turn around and take a look at your neighborhood:

Examine the streets, the corridors, the waiting rooms, the greetings people give, the outfits, the shopping areas, the bazaars, the people; Turkey looks more and more like an Arab country, and less and less like Belgium.
 
Yes, you are the ones who are changing....